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Neurosurgeon Sentenced to Federal Prison Following IRS Investigation

Neurosurgeon Sentenced to Federal Prison Following IRS Investigation

A California neurosurgeon has been sentenced to 60 months in federal prison following an investigation by the IRS Criminal Investigation division and other agencies.

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San Diego resident Lokesh S. Tantuwaya accepted approximately $3.3 million in bribes while working at a now-defunct Long Beach hospital whose owner has also been imprisoned for a massive workers' compensation scheme. 

According to an official release from the IRS, on September 1, Tantuwaya pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit honest services mail and wire fraud and to receive illegal payments for health care referrals.

The former surgeon has been in federal custody since May 2021 when he violated the terms of his bail. 

The IRS alleges that between 2010 to 2013, Tantuwaya accepted funds from Michael Drobot, the aforementioned disgraced owner of Pacific Hospital in Long Beach.

Tantuwaya was bribed in exchange for performing spinal surgeries at that hospital. The amount the doctor received per surgery depended on the exact nature of the procedure. 

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According to the IRS, Tantuwaya "knew or deliberately was ignorant" that he was being paid specifically for bringing his patients to Pacific Hospital. Furthermore, he allegedly knew the entire scam was illegal. 

As noted, Drobot is now serving a 63-month prison sentence himself. Pacific Hospital was sold in 2013, following a law enforcement raid. 

The IRS shared the following details from the courtroom:

"Despite his privileges at San Diego-area hospitals, [Tantuwaya] caused several patients to travel from Imperial County and San Diego County up to Pacific Hospital for spine surgery so that [Tantuwaya] could get his bribes," prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. "This resulted in numerous patient-victims enduring the physical anguish of multi-hour trips after invasive spinal surgeries, in addition [to] dealing with the mental anguish of now wondering whether they needed a surgery, whether the medical hardware drilled into their bones was legitimate hardware, and whether they should have trusted [Tantuwaya] with their lives."

Credit: Tomasz Skoczen/Getty Images

To date, 23 defendants have been convicted for participating in Drobot's kickback scheme.

What do you think about this bribery scheme?

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Feature Image Credit: John Coletti/Getty Images

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Rebekah Barton

Rebekah Barton

Rebekah's search engine optimization career began completely by accident as a college student. Over the course of her career so far, she has "grown up" with the SEO industry, from writing content while juggling classes to managing her own teams of writers and overseeing SEO strategy in subsequent roles. She is excited to bring her passion for high-quality content to CountingWorks, Inc.

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