Money-laundering case dropped against Jamaica-born spinal surgeon

A federal judge in a Massachusetts court has dismissed a charge of money laundering brought against Dr Kingsley Chin, a Jamaica-born spinal surgeon, and the company he founded, SpineFrontier Incorporated, while castigating the Government for bringing the charge in the first place.

However, at the behest of the Government, the judge has sealed the arguments made before the court although motions have been filed to try and get the grand jury transcripts. Grand jury deliberations are secret and not subject to public disclosure.

The dismissal of the money-laundering charge followed the settlement of a civil matter in which Chin agreed to pay the United States (US) Department of Justice (DOJ) a specific sum and the DOJ would hold 50 per cent of his company for five years.

The case against Chin and SpineFrontier Inc was brought by the DOJ under the False Claims Act. The complaint alleged that SpineFrontier paid kickbacks to spine surgeons consulting with the company.

While the money-laundering charge was dismissed in October and the civil case settled, the company and Chin still face kickback charges that will go to trial the middle of next year.

In the money-laundering matter, the federal judge raised doubts about the charges, questioning how there could be concealment of transfers that were publicly disclosed under the Physicians Payments Sunshine Act.

The Sunshine Act is a federal law that requires manufacturers to report payments and other transfers of value to physicians and teaching hospitals.

The judge’s observation suggested that the evidence might not be as clear-cut as was initially presented.

According to a report by legal news service Law360, during the hearing, the judge struggled to reconcile how the defendant could have allegedly concealed unlawful transfers to surgeons while also disclosing them publicly in accordance with the requirements of the Sunshine Act.

The judge highlighted several issues that called into question the strength of the claims, according to the report. An assistant US attorney agreed with the judge that some evidence of a cover-up was required to state a case of money laundering.

It is alleged that the DOJ empanelled three different grand juries before getting the charges against Chin and his company.

Chin, who lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and has a medical device manufacturing company, had disputed the US Federal case against him, saying that he and his company were caught up in a push by the federal government to crack down on medical companies using doctors as consultants.

Shortly after his arrest on September 7, 2021, Chin, in an exclusive interview with The Gleaner, pointed out that about 15 federal marshals had turned up at his house with guns drawn to take him into custody.

“In civil cases, this does not happened. The criminal complaint caught myself and my lawyers completely by surprise. In any case, this is normally handled by the suspect being asked to come to the police station and turn himself in,” he said at the time.

He contended that none of this happened. He was taken to the police station and released on US$1-million bail.

Chin said at the time that the charges had been brought that he had a civil case with the federal government but was blindsided by the criminal complaint unsealed against him.

For Chin, this outcome allows for renewed focus on his pioneering work in spinal care innovation, reflecting his commitment to advancing patient outcomes despite significant legal hurdles, his company said in a statement.

editorial@gleanerjm.com