The FBI, which has a team working on this long-running case, says "Michael Drobot – the owner of the Long Beach-based Pacific Hospital – conspired with doctors, chiropractors, and marketers to pay kickbacks and bribes in return for the referral of patients to Pacific Hospital for spinal surgeries and other medical services. These services and surgeries were paid for primarily through the California workers’ compensation system. During its final five years, the scheme resulted in the submission of more than USD500 million in medical bills for spinal surgeries involving kickbacks.

"David Hobart Payne, 66, of Irvine, a surgeon, accepted more than USD315,000 in bribes and kickbacks for performing spinal surgeries.

"Payne received bribes from Drobot of up to $15,000 for each spinal surgery that he performed at Pacific Hospital. The top bribe payment was for lumbar spinal surgeries Payne performed on patients at Pacific Hospital with implants from one of Drobot’s companies. Drobot and Payne covered up the bribes by disguising them as payments for marketing services and fees based on a sham contract."

Payne was found guilt of the oddly named offences of 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.

That's not the interesting thing about the charges. What is missing is any determination as to whether the surgeries were necessary or whether the implants were the best solution to those that were necessary.

The charges all relate to a fraud on the California workers’ compensation system. There is, it seems, nothing about the patients.