Spinal Device Company Executive Earns Prison Term for Kickback Scheme

SpineFrontier Inc.’s chief financial officer (CFO) is spending most of the remaining months of 2026 in jail for bribing surgeons to use company products.

U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani recently sentenced Aditya Humad, 41, to four months in prison and one year of supervised release, and fined him $9,500. Humad pleaded guilty in May to one count of conspiracy to violate the anti-kickback statute; he and SpineFrontier Founder/President/CEO Dr. Kingsley R. Chin, were arrested and charged by federal prosecutors in September 2021. Dr. Chin is now the founder, CEO, and partner at KIC, a private equity and strategic investment firm focused on artificial intelligence, proprietary technologies, and global capital markets.

“This sentence is the culmination of years of dogged pursuit of SpineFrontier, its executives, Aditya Humad and Kingsley Chin, and multiple bribe-taking doctors. Aditya Humad now stands convicted and sentenced for conspiracy to pay bribes to physicians to induce them to use products in complicated spine surgeries,” U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley said.  “In criminal and civil proceedings, we have recovered more than $4 million from these executives, their companies, and the physicians who took their bribes. Let these resolutions serve as notice that no matter how long it takes, and how sophisticated the scheme, we will crack down on healthcare fraud offenses.”

According to U.S. prosecutors, Humad paid and conspired to pay more than $540,000 in bribes to surgeons through sham consulting fees for work they never performed. Humad bribed surgeons to use SpineFrontier’s products, and in turn, SpineFrontier received millions of dollars in revenue from procedures the surgeons performed, the U.S. Justice Department charged.

“This corporate scheme sought to corruptly influence surgeons by paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to induce the use of SpineFrontier’s medical devices in surgeries,” stated Roberto Coviello, Special Agent in Charge at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS OIG). “Humad’s actions undermined critical safeguards designed to protect patients and the integrity of taxpayer-funded healthcare programs. HHS OIG, working closely with our law enforcement partners, will continue to hold accountable individuals and executives who engage in such illegal schemes.”

Humad conspired with SpineFrontier to draft contracts that paid surgeons between $250 and $1,000 per hour for purported consulting work. However, Humad directed the company to pay surgeons for using SpineFrontier’s products. The consulting program allegedly aimed to gather technical feedback about SpineFrontier’s products, but Humad used the bribes to induce surgeons to use SpineFrontier’s products in procedures that were covered by federal programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and the Veterans Health Administration. Additionally, the surgeons frequently spent only a small fraction of their reported time, if any, performing actual consulting work.

“As the chief financial officer of SpineFrontier Inc., Aditya Humad conspired to bribe surgeons to use his company’s products—and paid them more than half a million dollars in sham consulting fees for work they did not perform—in an effort to boost the company’s bottom line,” commented Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Division. “Kickback schemes like this not only violate federal law, but they erode the public’s trust in our healthcare system. That’s why the FBI, and our partners, will continue to ensure individuals who put their company’s profits ahead of patient care are brought to justice.”

Humad previously agreed to pay a fine pursuant to a civil settlement agreement, including a fixed amount totaling more than $150,000 (including interest) and potential additional contingency payments based upon his annual income.

“This sentencing sends a clear message that the VA Office of Inspector General will work diligently to ensure that individuals who conspire to pay kickbacks to influence medical decisions are held accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge Christopher Algieri of the VA OIG’s Northeast Field Office. “The VA OIG thanks the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement partners for their collaboration and exceptional work in pursuing justice in this case.”

Chin pleaded guilty last May to making false statements to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. He was subsequently sentenced in August 2025 to one year of supervised release, with the first six months to be served in home confinement. Chin was also fined $9,500 in addition to $40,000 he personally agreed to pay as part of a related civil settlement and $855,000 his wholly-owned company agreed to pay as part of the same settlement.

In related criminal prosecutions, in August 2020, surgeon Jason Montone, 50, of Lawson, Miss., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute and obstruction. Medical device distributor John Balzer, 48, of Lenexa, Kan., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute and one count of witness tampering. Montone and Balzer are scheduled to be sentenced next month.

In related civil enforcement, in March 2020, five doctors agreed to pay civil settlements to resolve allegations of accepting sham consulting fees in violation of the False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Statute: Dr. F. Paul DeGenova agreed to pay $486,985; Dr. Michael Murray agreed to pay $330,668; Dr. Joseph Shehadi agreed to pay $323,419; Dr. Agha Khan agreed to pay $310,843; and Dr. John Atwater agreed to pay $105,149. In April 2020, Dr. John Carlson agreed to pay $1.75 million dollars to resolve the same allegations.       

U.S. Attorney Foley; Roberto Coviello, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Special Agent in Charge Christopher Algieri, Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office; and Justin Page, Acting Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Abraham R. George, Christopher R. Looney and Mackenzie A. Queenin prosecuted the case.