Dr. Kingsley R. Chin, the Founder, President, and CEO of SpineFrontier, Inc., was sentenced in federal court in Boston for making false statements to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The sentencing took place before U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani.
Chin, 61, received one year of supervised release, with the first six months to be served under home confinement. He was also ordered to pay a $9,500 fine. In addition to this penalty, Chin agreed to pay $40,000 as part of a related civil settlement. His company, KICVentures, which he wholly owns, will pay an additional $855,000 as part of the same settlement. Chin pleaded guilty in May 2025 to one count of false statements.
Under the Physician Payment Sunshine Act, companies that manufacture medical devices must report any payments or transfers of value made to physicians. This information is made available by CMS through its Open Payments website so that such transactions are publicly accessible.
The case against Chin involved reporting consulting fees paid to a surgeon for product development work at SpineFrontier. However, according to authorities, Chin directed employees to label these payments as consulting fees even when no actual consulting work had been performed. Specifically, on January 19, 2016, he caused his employees to report a payment of $4,750 as a “consulting” payment despite knowing that the surgeon had not done any consulting work for it. Authorities said Chin was aware that both he and his company were required by law to accurately report all such payments or transfers of value.
“United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Roberto Coviello, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Christopher Algieri, Special Agent in Charge of the Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office; and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division made the announcement today.”
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Abraham R. George, Christopher R. Looney and Mackenzie A. Queenin prosecuted the case.
