A doctor and the former owner of a Long Beach hospital was sentenced this morning to 15 months in federal prison for taking part in a long-running health care fraud scheme where he authorized sham contracts that concealed over $30 million in illegal kickback payments to physicians who steered spinal surgeries to his hospital. The overall scheme resulted in more than $900 million in fraudulent bills being submitted, primarily to California’s worker compensation system.
Dr. Faustino Bernadett, 65, of Rolling Hills, was sentenced by United States District Judge Josephine L. Staton, who also ordered him to pay a $60,000 fine on top of $1 million he has already forfeited to the United States.
Bernadett, a board-certified anesthesiologist and pain management physician who retired his license last year, pleaded guilty in August to a one-count criminal information charging him with misprision of a felony.