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 All five defendants have agreed to cooperate in a wide-ranging
federal investigation into the fraud, dubbed "Operation Spinal Cap",
U.S. Attorney's spokesman Thom Mrozek said, and two have already
pleaded guilty to federal charges.
The remaining three defendants were expected to plead guilty in the
coming weeks, Mrozek said. Under the terms of their plea agreements,
all five will face prison terms and be ordered to pay restitution,
he said.
Prosecutors say one of the schemes involved kickbacks and fraudulent
claims submitted in thousands of spinal surgery cases referred to
Pacific Hospital in the Los Angeles suburb of Long Beach.
The hospital's former owner, Michael Drobot, pleaded guilty last
year to taking part in the scheme and is cooperating in the
investigation, Mrozek said.
Former California state Senator Ron Calderon was indicted last year
on charges that he accepted $100,000 in bribes from Drobot to
preserve a loophole in the law that allowed companies he controlled
to charge more for hardware used in spinal surgeries.
Calderon, who was an influential Democrat before he termed out of
the state senate last year, is also accused of taking bribes from
undercover FBI agents posing as Hollywood movie executives in
exchange for steering legislation in their favor.
Calderon has pleaded innocent to the charges against him and is
awaiting trial next year.
In another scheme, doctors received illegal kickbacks for referring
patients to Tri-City Regional Medical Center in the Los Angeles
suburb of Hawaiian Gardens, according to prosecutors.
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James Canedo, the 63-year-old former chief financial officer of
Pacific Hospital, pleaded guilty in September to fraud and other
charges. Orthopedic surgeon Philip Sobol, 61, has agreed to plead
guilty to conspiracy and other charges, prosecutors say.
Chiropractor Alan Ivar was charged on Tuesday with conspiracy and
other charges and, in a plea agreement, has admitted steering
patients to Pacific Hospital in exchange for a monthly retainer,
Mrozek said.
Paul Richard Randall, 56, a health care marketer previously
affiliated with Pacific Hospital and Tri-City Regional Medical
Center, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud.
Orthopedic surgeon Mitchell Cohen, 55, has agreed to plead guilty to
failing to report income received from kickback payments, Mrozek
said.
(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Editing by Christian
Plumb)
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