Surgeon Sentenced to 33 Months for Role in Pacific Hospital Kickback Scheme

The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that a surgeon who accepted more than $315,000 in bribes and kickbacks for performing spinal surgeries at Pacific Hospital of Long Beach was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison. David H. Payne, 66, was also fined $20,000 and ordered to forfeit $316,597. Following a six-day trial, a federal jury in March found Payne guilty of one count of conspiracy, two counts of honest services wire fraud and one count of use of an interstate facility in aid of bribery. Payne reportedly received bribes for each spinal surgery he performed at Pacific Hospital ...