Sunny Hostin’s husband granted an extension to answer insurance fraud claims

A Brooklyn judge granted a motion Friday giving Dr. Emmanuel Hostin, husband of TV personality Sunny Hostin, until Feb. 10 to answer a medical fraud lawsuit.

Emmanuel Hostin, owner of Hostin Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine in Manhattan, is accused along with dozens of other doctors, clinics and orthopedic services of participating in a massive medical insurance fraud.

American Transit filed the 698-page civil lawsuit Dec. 17 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Emmanuel Hostin is alleged to have received "kickbacks" by "performing surgery and fraudulently billing" the insurer.

Emmanuel Hostin was joined by defendants Dr. Albert Graziosa and Dr. William B. Jones in filing for an extension to reply to the complaint. Magistrate Judge James R. Cho granted the delay without comment.

American Transit seeks to recover compensatory damages in excess of $153 million and treble damages in excess of $459 million.

'Predetermined treatment'

The insurer alleges that Hostin “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.”

Hostin allegedly performed surgeries at other ambulatory surgical centers and billed American Transit through each of those entities “in exchange for kickbacks and/or other compensation which were disguised as dividends or other cash distributions” for an investment Hostin has in Empire State ASC, the lawsuit claims.

Licensed to practice medicine in New York since August 2002, Emmanuel Hostin married Sunny in 1998 and has two children with the talk show host, a lawyer and former federal prosecutor.

In a statement given to the Daily Mail, Emmanuel's lawyer, Daniel Thwaites, said that his client "denies each and every allegation" and believes the lawsuit to be a "blanket, scattershot, meritless lawsuit by a near-bankrupt insurance carrier."

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InsuranceNewsNet Senior Editor John Hilton has covered business and other beats in more than 20 years of daily journalism. John may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @INNJohnH.