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# Device Co. Kickback Scheme Costs Physician $1.75 Million
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/device-co-kickback-scheme-costs-physician-1-75-million/
- Published: 2020-04-27T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T16:12:43.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Devices, #legacy-id-D5146656

The Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office has [announced](https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/surgeon-agrees-pay-175-million-resolve-allegations-he-accepted-kickbacks-spinefrontier?ref=fdaweb.com) that physician **Jeffrey R. Carlson** (Newport News, VA) has agreed to pay $1.75 million to resolve allegations that he accepted kickbacks from SpineFrontier, a Massachusetts-based medical device manufacturer. In March, the government filed a False Claims Act complaint against [SpineFrontier](https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/us-attorney-sues-spinal-device-company-and-its-executives-allegations-they-paid-kickbacks?ref=fdaweb.com) and its executives, alleging that the company paid kickbacks to spine surgeons through a sham third-party entity, Impartial Medical Experts, which was owned and controlled by SpineFrontier’s founder and CEO, **Kingsley R. Chin**.

As part of the settlement with Carlson, the government contends that he received kickbacks in the form of sham consulting fees. Carlson has admitted that he estimated his purported consulting hours based on the number of times he used a SpineFrontier product in a given month, as opposed to tracking actual time he spent consulting, according to the government. “In addition, Dr. Carlson sought and received consulting payments from SpineFrontier for time he spent during his surgical procedures, for which Medicare and other federal health care programs were already paying him,” it says. Carlson also admitted to accepting free meals from SpineFrontier, for himself and his surgical staff, on almost every day that he performed a surgical procedure with a SpineFrontier product.