“The View” host Sunny Hostin's husband is among 200 co-defendants accused of insurance fraud in a massive $459 million lawsuit in New York, legal experts say. In addition, he could be held in court for years to come.
Orthopedic surgeon Emanuel 'Manny' Hostin was named in a federal lawsuit filed last month by American Transit Insurance Company, a New York-based commercial auto insurer that provides insurance for Uber and Lyft. He is one of dozens of doctors and medical personnel. , a taxi company in the state. According to the complaint, Hostin is specifically accused of receiving kickbacks for “performing surgeries and fraudulently billing” American Transit.
The report names at least two of Hostin's patients who were allegedly treated in January 2023 after being involved in “minor” crashes that caused minimal damage. Both underwent arthroscopic surgery despite “only soft tissue injuries,” according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit was brought under the Federal Racketeers Act (RICO) in the Eastern District of New York. Legal experts told Fox News Digital that the strategy is designed to have a chilling effect on behavior. It also risks embroiling defendants like Hostin in complex court proceedings that can last years and potentially cost them large sums of money.
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Sunny Hostin, co-host of “The View.” (Screenshot/ABC)
The RICO Act, which was enacted in the 1970s to crack down on mafia activities and other organized crime, allows plaintiffs to win “treble damages,'' which is three times the amount of actual damages. Body.
In the American Transit Authority lawsuit, the amount was approximately more than $459 million, three times the $153 million award.
Intimidation factor, chilling effect
Michael Mears, an associate professor of law at John Marshall Law School who specializes in criminal law and RICO cases, said these types of cases often proceed with a specific strategy in mind.
“There's a lot more going on when it comes to applying the RICO statute than just damages,” Mears said in an interview on FOX News Digital. “Behaviors change, attitudes change, and sometimes the way you do business changes.”
RICO civil actions are sometimes used as a means to coerce people or stop them from engaging in certain or oppressive behaviors. The cases involving Hostin allegedly involve habitual overbilling by physicians and outpatient services, or an unusual degree of overbilling of patients.
In the New York case, for example, “some doctors don't want to be called criminals,” Mears said. “Even just the accusations. [in] RICO civil law is very coercive and can be a very powerful tool for deterring undesirable practices.
But that doesn't mean Hostin and other defendants named in the American Transit case won't face endless court action.
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Sunny Hostin speaks on-air in “The VIew” segment. (Screenshot/ABC)
Legal experts told Fox News Digital that civil RICO litigation in today's world is a long game, often taking years rather than months to get through the courts.
Jeffrey Grell, an attorney who specializes in RICO litigation, said in an interview on FOX News Digital that plaintiffs in civil RICO lawsuits are often insurance companies that are accusing a group of fraud.
In the American Transit lawsuit, the insurance company alleges that Hostin and dozens of other doctors abused New York state no-fault laws to artificially inflate or charge unnecessary medical fees and profit from kickbacks. I'm blaming.
No-fault laws require companies like American Transit to pay for medical expenses “reasonably incurred” as a result of injuries sustained by insured passengers. However, the low burden of proof under no-fault law also means that they are particularly vulnerable to exploitation by health professionals.
American Transit alleges that Hostin and other defendants abused New York state no-fault laws to claim “hundreds of millions” of dollars in fraudulent payments from 2009 to December 2024.
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Sunny Hostin, co-host of “The View.” (92 yen via YouTube)
Complex cases, long schedules
RICO civil litigation is often long and difficult for each party involved.
In fact, the 698-page lawsuit filed by American Transit is one of the largest civil RICO lawsuits ever filed in New York, ensuring a lengthy resolution process for Hostin and the other defendants. It's almost impossible to do.
The court will “examine the individual allegations against each defendant to establish all elements of a RICO claim, and all elements of a RICO claim are fairly complex,” Grell said.
Many, if not all, defendants will attempt to dismiss the case before discovery begins, but preliminary proceedings alone can take more than a year. In many cases, the defendant will file a series of related motions and further extensions in order to get the court to grant a motion to dismiss.
After the motion to dismiss is passed, the discovery process begins. The process can be long and complex, as each person named in the lawsuit is involved and each defendant's attorney attempts to argue that his client individually does not meet the elements of a RICO lawsuit. There is.
“Like any other civil case, the RICO Act allows people to take depositions,” Mears said of the deadlines for RICO cases. “It will be possible to collect documents. It will also be possible to find records of entries.”
Ultimately, this is a process that “opens up a complete path to knowing what's going on within an organization, whether it's a clinic, a hospital, a physician group,” and allows plaintiffs to pursue discovery and He said he would be able to order the collection of documents. Each was given a name.
As a result, litigation may drag on further.
“In other words, the discovery process [in RICO cases] “It could be very scary,” Mears said. “This is a long game.”
Sunny Hostin gave her opinion on her husband's work as a doctor as a co-host on “The View.”
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Most recently, Hostin mentioned his research during the post-assassination health insurance debate. United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City.
“Doctors are also suffering because of big business. There are doctors like my husband who want to do good,” Hostin said on the show. Her husband, in his capacity as an orthopedic surgeon, “operated on patients even though he had no insurance, and sued his health insurance company to get compensation for the work he had been trained to do his whole life.” Must be,” he added. ”
According to the Daily Mail, Hostin's lawyer previously denied all allegations against him, calling the filing an “all-out, sporadic and pointless lawsuit by an insurance company on the verge of bankruptcy.”
They did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment about the allegations or the expected timeline for the RICO proceeding.
