Becker's reported on developments in two federal criminal cases related to spine care and business since Feb. 21.
Doron Tavlin, a former vice president of Mazor Robotics, was convicted by a federal jury for insider trading ahead of Mazor's acquisition by medical device company Medtronic. In 2018, Medtronic finalized the $1.6 billion acquisition of Mazor Robotics after making a series of investments over the span of two years. Mr. Tavlin is accused of engaging in an insider trading conspiracy with Afshin Farahan from 2018 to August 2020, according to the Justice Department.
A former pain clinic owner and a medical sales representative were sentenced for their role in a healthcare fraud scheme. David Lyle Shehi owned Etowah Pain in Rainbow City, Ala. There he was paid kickbacks in exchange for ordering nerve conduction tests from QBR, an electro-diagnostic testing company, that would be billed to Medicare and other health insurance programs according to the Justice Department. At his practice, Mr. Shehi routinely billed health insurance programs for patient visits using the code that would receive the highest reimbursement. Mr. Shehi was sentenced to 28 months for conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. He was also ordered to pay forfeiture and restitution to his victims. James Ewing Ray, a medical sales representative who received kickbacks, was sentenced to 40 months for conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. Mr. Ray was ordered to forfeit more than $850,000 and to pay restitution to victims of more than $5.3 million.