Sunny Hostin is standing by her surgeon husband after he was accused of committing federal insurance fraud in a bombshell lawsuit.
DailyMail.com was the first to report that Dr. Emmanuel ‘Manny’ Hostin, 54, is among nearly 200 defendants named in one of the largest civil RICO cases ever filed in New York.
Now, The View co-host, has hit back at the insurance company for filing a ‘frivolous lawsuit’ against her partner, labeling it a ‘desperate attempt to avoid paying for medical and surgical procedures for people it insures who were in pain,’ she told Page Six on Monday.
Dr. Hostin and many others are accused of getting kickbacks by performing surgery and fraudulently billing the company, American Transit, which insures taxi companies and Uber and Lyft drivers.
‘Hostin knowingly provided fraudulent medical and other healthcare services including arthroscopic surgeries,’ the lawsuit, filed on December 17, claims.
The insurance firm was then billed ‘in exchange for kickbacks and/or other compensation which were disguised as dividends or other cash distributions,’ according to the legal filing.
Attorney Mark Geragos, who the couple hired last week to help represent them and their family, sent a letter to American Transit’s legal team Sunday, threatening to countersue for $5million if they do not withdraw the case and apologize, the outlet reported.
Sunny, who is also an attorney, has warned that the price could rise, noting that $5million is ‘an amount that is likely to increase as the reputational damage that American Transit has intentionally caused is difficult to quantify at this time.’
Sunny Hostin, 65, is standing by her surgeon husband who was accused of committing federal insurance fraud in a bombshell lawsuit
DailyMail.com was the first to report that Dr. Emmanuel ‘Manny’ Hostin is among nearly 200 defendants named in one of the largest civil RICO cases ever filed in New York. (Pictured: Dr. Hostin and Sunny in September)
Sunny said the lawsuit against her husband is a ‘desperate attempt to avoid paying for medical and surgical procedures for people it insures who were in pain’
Additionally, Sunny, 56, has blasted the insurance company for starting a ‘disgusting media smear campaign against my husband, which included me and our children.’
Together, Sunny and Dr. Hostin share two children – son Gabriel Hostin, 22 and Paloma Hostin, 18.
‘American Transit is harassing me and my family in a frantic attempt to not pay its bills. Our family will not be intimidated and harassed. We remain unbowed,’ she added.
Sunny went on to accuse the insurer of ‘engaging in despicable tactics like harassing doctors.’
The television host also referred to another lawsuit filed by Uber Technologies against American Transit, and an alleged previous investigation by New York State, claiming that the insurance firm is ‘on the verge of bankruptcy.’
‘Let me be clear, where I come from, American Transit will receive a PHD from FAFO University,’ she concluded, as in ‘F*** around and find out.’
In the suit filed in federal court in Brooklyn, Dr. Hostin is named as the owner of Hostin Orthopaedics, working out of an eighth-floor office on Lexington Avenue close to Manhattan’s Grand Central Terminal.
American Transit claims ‘rampant’ insurance fraud is endemic in New York State thanks to its ‘No-Fault Law’ under which insurers must pay up to $50,000 for medical expenses for people injured in road accidents.
The couple has been married since 1998 and currently live in a 10-bedroom, 10-bathroom estate in Purchase, New York. They have a 22-year-old son and 18-year-old daughter
‘These substantial possible no-fault recoveries can incentivize providers with ill intent to over-diagnose, over-treat, and over-bill to recover the most money for themselves,’ American Transit said in a statement.
The law was introduced in 1974 ‘in the wake of rapidly rising automobile insurance costs and when accident victims were experiencing long delays in compensation,’ American Transit says in the suit.
But taxis and ride-share vehicles are now required to pay up to $200,000 – four times the coverage for private drivers.
This has put a target on the backs of livery vehicles, and the insurance companies which insure them, for unsavory persons seeking to capitalize on payouts following injuries.’
‘In the aggregate, those abusing the No-Fault Law have racked up hundreds of millions in fraudulent payments, destabilized the livery insurance market in New York City, increased premiums for hard working taxi-cab and delivery drivers, and harmed the public.’
The insurance company claims Dr.Hostin was given an ‘investment’ interest in Empire State Ambulatory Surgery Center in exchange for referring a ‘steady stream’ of patients.
‘American Transit is harassing me and my family in a frantic attempt to not pay its bills. Our family will not be intimidated and harassed. We remain unbowed,’ Sunny said
‘Empire State ASC issued regular payments to or for the benefit of Hostin, which, in fact, were illegal kickbacks for referrals,’ the court papers claim.
As examples the insurance company claims Dr.Hostin – who is affiliated with several top New York hospitals including Mount Sinai and Lenox Hill – saw two patients in January 2023 who were involved in ‘low-impact’ collisions that should have caused ‘no more than soft-tissue injuries’.
But in both cases, Dr. Hostin is said to have performed arthroscopic surgery within two months without seeing if the patients would have recovered through more conservative care.
William Natbony, an attorney for American Transit told DailyMail.com ‘No fault fraud is a huge problem in New York.
‘American Transit filed a lawsuit as part of its statutory responsibility to fight such fraud.
American Transit is seeking more than $450 million in damages in the case.
Dr. Hostin’s attorney Daniel Thwaites previously told DailyMail.com his client ‘denies each and every allegation’ and called the lawsuit a ‘blanket, scattershot, meritless lawsuit by a near-bankrupt insurance carrier.’
‘It is meant to intimidate and harass doctors from collecting for care given to American Transit insureds and their passengers,’ Thwaites said.
Dr. Hostin was named in the lawsuit as the owner of Hostin Orthopaedics that was providing arthroscopic procedures without waiting to see if the accident victims recovered with more conservative treatment
American Transit, the largest insurer of taxis and Ubers in New York City , is seeking more than $450million in damages in one of the largest civil RICO cases ever filed in New York
He said Dr. Hostin has an ‘impeccable’ record, adding: ‘American Transit has rushed into the lawsuit without ever conducting an examination of Dr. Hostin or expressing any concerns to his lawyers.
‘The real story here is about an insurance carrier abusing the legal system to limit and restrict health care benefits to its insureds and their passengers, and write off its proper obligations,’ Thwaites said.
Geragos – who recently joined Thwaites in representing the Hostin family – said that his letter to American Transit consists of ‘a damning 83-page report filed by New York State’s Department of Financial Services… laid out dozens of potential financial improprieties and accounting problems at American Transit.’
Pointing toward the Uber Technologies lawsuit filed in 2014, he said the insurance company has a ‘pattern and practice of failing to adhere to reasonable claims-handling practices and failing to reasonably resolve claims and lawsuits on its insureds’ behalf.’
In response to Sunny Dr. Hostin’s countersuit, Natbony said: ‘American Transit commenced its lawsuit as part of its statutory responsibility to fight no-fault fraud which is rampant in New York.
‘The allegations of the Complaint speak for themselves. With respect to any allegations by any defendant as to improper conduct by American Transit or its counsel, such assertions are emphatically denied as without basis.’
