LOS ANGELES – A neurosurgeon pleaded guilty today to a federal criminal charge for accepting approximately $3.3 million in bribes for performing spinal surgeries at a now-defunct Long Beach hospital whose owner later was imprisoned for committing a massive workers’ compensation system scam.

Lokesh Tantuwaya, 55, of San Diego, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit honest services fraud and to violate the federal Anti-Kickback statute. He has been in federal custody since May 2021 after he was found to have violated the terms of his pretrial release.

The FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General, and the California Department of Insurance investigated this matter.