A federal jury in St. Louis found neurosurgeon Sonjay Fonn, DO, of Cape Girardeau, Mo.-based Midwest Neurosurgeons, violated the False Claims Act, according to St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Here are seven things to know:
1. The U.S. Attorney's office reports Dr. Fonn and his fiancé Deborah Seeger submitted false medical claims to Medicare and Medicaid.
2. The jury found Dr. Fonn and Ms. Seeger submitted 228 false claims, for which the defendants received a statutory penalty of $5,500 to $11,000 for each claim, according to Southeast Missourian.
3. The jury also found Medicare and Medicaid should receive $1.65 million in repayments, Southeast Missourian reports. The U.S. Attorney's office reports the final damage amount has not yet been determined.
4. St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports Cape Girardeau physicians and providers filed the civil suit against Dr. Fonn and Ms. Seeger in 2012.
5. Ms. Seeger owns spinal implant distributor DS Medical. Dr. Fonn performed spinal fusions with implants distributed by DS Medical between 2009 and 2012.
6. For every implant Dr. Fonn used, Ms. Seeger earned 50 percent commission. During the trial, prosecutors displayed evidence that this additional income benefited Dr. Fonn through a yacht purchase and home improve
ments.
7. The defense contested the allegation of inflated commissions, noting Dr. Fonn never offered conditions of using certain implants.