'The View' Co-Host Sunny Hostin's Husband Accused of Receiving Insurance 'Kickbacks' in $450M Federal Lawsuit
The View co-star Sunny Hostin's husband is in hot water after being named in a sweeping federal lawsuit filed last month.
Dr. Emmanuel "Manny" Hostin and his practice Hostin Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine are being accused of federal insurance fraud in what's been reported as one of the largest RICO cases ever filed in New York.
The lawsuit, filed on December 17, reportedly lists hundreds of defendants in the New York and New Jersey area.
Hostin and others listed in the filing are accused of receiving "kickbacks" after performing surgeries and billing companies that provide insurance to taxi companies, including Uber and Lyft.
The reported insurance firm, listed as American Transit, was reportedly billed "in exchange for kickbacks and/or other compensation which were disguised as dividends or other cash distributions," per the filing states. "Hostin knowingly provided fraudulent medical and other healthcare services including arthroscopic surgeries."
American Transit has released a statement announcing the reported $450 million lawsuit, adding that this case represents a step forward in combating fraud.
"The federal court complaint, filed in the Eastern District of New York, alleges that the defendants sought to take advantage of New York's no-fault auto insurance laws, which require insurance companies to reimburse their policyholders for the cost of necessary and documented medical care up to $50,000 for personal or private passenger vehicles ($200,000 for taxis and for-hire vehicles in New York City) for injuries arising out of an accident regardless of fault. These substantial possible no-fault recoveries can incentivize providers with ill intent to over-diagnose, over-treat, and over-bill to recover the most money for themselves."
"The complaint seeks to recover funds ATIC paid to providers who are alleged to have unlawfully sought payments for services, including ambulatory surgical centers that the complaint alleges were improperly licensed. The complaint further alleges that the services were rendered as a result of improper kickbacks or patient referrals, services that were not provided as billed or were provided in a manner misrepresenting the services provided, were medically unnecessary, and were provided to maximize reimbursement pursuant to a pre-determined protocol irrespective of the actual medical condition and needs of patients," the statement added.
The statement also reported that no-fault fraud reports accounted for a whopping 94% of all healthcare fraud reports received in 2023. "As estimated by ATIC [American Taxi Insurance Company], whose 75,000 policyholders include operators of taxis, Uber and Lyft dispatched cars, and other TLC-licensed vehicles, of the more than 250,000 claims it processes every year, 60-70% are fraudulent."
Hostin's attorney Daniel Thwaites maintains that his client "denies each and every allegation," deeming the lawsuit a "blanket, scattershot, meritless lawsuit by a near-bankrupt insurance carrier," per The Daily Mail.
Thwaites defends that Hostin has an "impeccable" track record and argues that the lawsuit was put forth with any examination of the orthopedic surgeon or raising any concerns with his legal team.
"It is meant to intimidate and harass doctors from collecting for care given to American Transit insureds and their passengers," Thwaites stated, per the media outlet. "The real story here is about an insurance carrier abusing the legal system to limit and restrict health care benefits to its insureds and their passengers, and write off its proper obligations."
Sunny, 56, and Emmanuel tied the knot back in 1998 after they met at a church in Maryland in 1996. The couple share two children together: Gabriel, 22, and Paloma, 18.
