ST. LOUIS (AP) — A Missouri neurosurgeon and his fiancée have been ordered to pay $5.5 million to the federal government for a health care kickback scheme.
The civil judgment was ordered Tuesday in the case against Dr. Sonjay Fonn, of Cape Girardeau, and his fiancée, Deborah Seeger. The judgment is about three times the $1.6 million they netted through the scheme.
Jurors found last year that a statute barring health care providers from receiving kickbacks was violated when Fonn used spinal implants distributed by a company owned by Seeger. She received commissions for the implants and used the money to pay for a yacht and home improvements for Fonn, as well as other purchases.