‘The View’ co-host’s husband accused of committing federal insurance fraud in lawsuit
Dr. Emmanuel “Manny” Hostin, the longtime husband of “The View” co-host Sunny Hostin, is being accused of fraudulently billing an insurance company in a new lawsuit filed in December, the Daily Mail first reported Tuesday.
Hostin, an orthopedic surgeon, is among nearly 200 defendants named in one of the largest RICO cases filed in New York, according to the Daily Mail. Hostin, along with the other defendants, are accused of performing fraudulent healthcare services and billing American Transit, an insurance firm that covers taxi companies and Uber drivers, in exchange for “kickbacks and/or other compensation which were disguised as dividends or other cash distributions,” according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit, filed on Dec. 17, states that Hostin has been the owner of Hostin Orthopaedics in New York City since February 2006, according to the lawsuit. He allegedly “knowingly provided fraudulent medical and other healthcare services” and billed the insurance company.
“Defendant Hostin is the record owner of Hostin Orthopaedics and purportedly provided examinations to Covered Persons through Hostin Orthopaedics, and fraudulently billed American Transit for medical and other healthcare services, pursuant to a fraudulent predetermined treatment protocol irrespective of medical necessity in exchange for kickbacks and/or other financial compensation paid by one or more of the Controllers and/or other entities owned, controlled, and operated by them and/or one or more of the John Does 2 through 20 or ABC Corporations 1 through 20,” the lawsuit stated.
William Natbony, an attorney representing the insurance company, said his client is fighting “no fault fraud” which has reportedly become a major problem in the state of New York.
“American Transit filed a lawsuit as part of its statutory responsibility to fight such fraud,” Natbony said.
Daniel Thwaites, an attorney for Hostin, said his client denies all of the allegations and called the lawsuit a “blanket, scattershot, meritless lawsuit by a near-bankrupt insurance carrier,” according to the Daily Mail. The attorney accused the insurance company of “abusing the legal system to limit and restrict healthcare benefits” to its customers.
“[The lawsuit] is meant to intimidate and harass doctors from collecting for care given to American Transit insureds and their passengers,” Thwaites said.
The lawsuit accused Hostin of seeing two patients in January 2023 who were involved in “low impact” collisions that would have caused “no more than soft tissue injuries,” according to the Daily Mail. The surgeon reportedly performed arthroscopic surgery on the patients within two months without checking to see if they had recovered through less invasive care.
The insurance company pointed fingers at the “No-Fault Law,” a New York law from 1974 that requires insurers to pay up to $50,000 for medical expenses for those hurt in car accidents regardless of who is at fault, for the reported rise in “rampant” insurance fraud, the Daily Mail reported. American Transit is seeking $450 million in damages, according to the Daily Mail.
Hostin’s wife, Sunny, has previously worked as a federal prosecutor and an attorney for the Justice Department before joining “The View” as a co-host in 2016.
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