BOSTON — The CEO of a Massachusetts-based company has pleaded guilty to making false statements to the federal government, the U.S. Attorney said Monday.
Dr. Kingsley R. Chin, founder, president and CEO of SpineFrontier Inc., a medical device company headquartered in Malden, pleaded guilty on Thursday to one count of false statements to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Open Payments Program, U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said in a statement.
U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani scheduled sentencing for Aug. 6.
The Physician Payment Sunshine Act requires device manufacturers like SpineFrontier to report any payments or transfers of value to physicians, including spine surgeons, Foley said.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services maintains a database, via the Open Payments website, which makes all such payments or transfers of value publicly accessible.
According to the charging documents, SpineFrontier offered surgeons the opportunity to engage in purported consulting on product development.
Specifically, Chin directed his employees to report the payment of fees paid to a surgeon as consulting fees that were not compensation for actual consulting work.
Chin caused his employees to report a payment of $4,750 on Jan. 19, 2016, to the surgeon as a “consulting” payment, even though Chin knew that the surgeon had not performed actual consulting work for the payment, prosecutors said.
Chin “also knew that he and SpineFrontier were required to accurately report any payments or transfers of value to the surgeon,” prosecutors said.
Chin faces a sentence of up to five years, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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