The View co-host Sunny Hostin’s longtime husband is off to a sad start to the new year after being accused of federal insurance fraud.

The orthopedic surgeon Dr. Emmanuel “Manny” Hostin is among nearly 200 defendants named in one of the largest RICO cases ever filed in New York.

He and many others are accused of receiving kickbacks by conducting an operation and fraudulently billing a company that insures taxi companies and Uber and Lyft drivers.

“Hostin knowingly provided fraudulent medical and other health care services, including arthroscopic surgeries,” the lawsuit, filed Dec. 17, states.

The insurance company, American Transit, was then charged “kickbacks and/or other compensation disguised as dividends or other cash distributions.”

Hostin’s attorney, Daniel Thwaites, told DailyMail.com that his client disputes “every single allegation” and called the lawsuit a “blanket, isolated, baseless lawsuit from a near-bankrupt insurance carrier.”

“It is intended to intimidate and harass doctors into collecting the costs of caring for American Transit policyholders and their passengers,” Thwaites said.

He said Hostin has an “impeccable” record, adding: “American Transit entered the lawsuit without ever interviewing Dr. Hostin or having expressed any concerns to his attorneys.”

“The real story here is about an insurance carrier abusing the legal system to restrict and limit health care benefits for its insureds and their passengers and write off its true obligations,” Thwaites said.

Sunny Hostin, 56, has been married to the doctor for almost a quarter of a century. They tied the knot in 1998, have two children and live in a palatial 10-bedroom, 10-bathroom estate in Purchase, New York.

They met at a church in Maryland, where he graduated from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1996.

Sunny, an attorney and former prosecutor, is a senior legal correspondent and analyst for ABC News and co-host of The View.

She’s no stranger to talking about her marriage on The View. Back in February, co-host Whoopi called her a “b****” when host publicly criticized her husband’s cooking skills on live television.

She has also recounted painful experiences, including her struggle with infertility before she and her husband welcomed their children, a 22-year-old son and an 18-year-old daughter.

In January 2021, she announced the tragic news that her husband’s parents, both doctors, had died of COVID over the holidays.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Brooklyn, accuses Dr. Hostin, 54, is listed as the owner of Hostin Orthopedics, who works in an eighth-floor office on Lexington Avenue near Manhattan’s Grand Central Terminal.

American Transit claims that “rampant” insurance fraud is rampant in New York state because of its “no-fault law,” which requires insurers to pay up to $50,000 for medical costs for people injured in traffic accidents .

“These significant potential no-fault refunds can lead providers with malicious intent to overdiagnose, overtreat and overcharge in an attempt to recoup the most money for themselves,” American Transit said in a statement.

The law was introduced in 1974 “as automobile insurance costs rose rapidly and accident victims faced long delays in receiving compensation,” American Transit’s lawsuit states.

But taxis and rideshare drivers now have to pay up to $200,000 – four times the coverage for private drivers.

“This has left painters and the insurance companies that insure them a target for shady individuals seeking to profit from injury payouts.”

“Overall, those abusing the No-Fault Law have amassed hundreds of millions in fraudulent payments, destabilized New York City’s livery insurance market, increased premiums for hard-working taxi and livery drivers, and caused harm to the public.”

American Transit is seeking more than $450 million in damages in this case.

The insurance company claims Hostin received an “investment interest” in Empire State Ambulatory Surgery Center in exchange for referring a “steady stream” of patients.

“Empire State ASC made periodic payments to or for the benefit of Hostin that were in fact illegal wire transfer bribes,” the court papers say.

As examples, the insurance company claims that in January 2023, Hostin – which is affiliated with several top hospitals in New York, including Mount Sinai and Lenox Hill – saw two patients involved in “mild impact” collisions that ” should have caused “no more than mild injuries”. Tissue injuries’.

But in both cases, Hostin allegedly performed arthroscopic surgery within two months without checking whether the patients would have recovered with more conservative treatment.

William Natbony, an attorney for American Transit, told DailyMail.com: “Non-fault fraud is a major problem in New York.”

“American Transit has filed a lawsuit as part of its legal responsibility to combat this fraud.

But Steven Harfenist, an attorney who has represented defendants in similar cases, told Law.com that the lawsuit “looks like a Hail Mary” from American Transit.

He called it a desperate attempt to “wipe out large amounts of claims” by targeting smaller practices that may settle because they can’t afford litigation.