Sunny Hostin and Dr. Emmanuel Hostin
Joy Malone/Getty ImagesSunny Hostinhusband, Emmanuel “Manny” Hostinmade headlines after he was named in an insurance fraud lawsuit.
According to the legal documents he reviewed Us Weekly On January 7, 2025, Emanuel was one of nearly 200 defendants listed in the case The lawsuit filed With the Eastern District Court of New York.
The New York-based orthopedic surgeon is accused of federal insurance fraud and “obtaining kickbacks by performing surgery and … sending invoices to a company that insured taxi companies and Uber and Lyft drivers,” The Guardian reported. Daily Mail.
Emmanuel's lawyer denied all accusations on behalf of his client.
Additionally, Sunny defended her husband and claimed that the plaintiff, American Transit, an insurance group that primarily works with taxi drivers, had a “history of filing frivolous claims.”
Read on for an overview of the ongoing case:
Who is Dr. Emmanuel “Manny” Houston?
Emanuel is a New York City-based orthopedic surgeon with nearly 29 years of experience. He graduated from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1996 and is the owner of Hostin Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, a practice the surgeon established in Manhattan in 2006.
He has been married to Sunny since 1998, and they have a son Gabriellea student at Harvard University and her daughter paloma, Student at Cornell University.
What is Dr. Emmanuel Hostin accused of?
According to the lawsuit he reviewed weEmanuel is accused of “knowingly and intentionally providing” fraudulent medical and other health care services, including laparoscopic surgeries, to persons covered through Hostin Orthopedics. The surgeon was also accused of fraudulently billing American Transit to cover costs.
Emanuel allegedly committed this fraud “in exchange for commissions and/or other compensation that were disguised as dividends or other cash distributions.” He denies these accusations.
What did Dr. Emanuel Houston say about the lawsuit?
Emanuel addressed these allegations through his lawyer, Daniel John Thwaiteswho told Daily Mail That his client “denies all allegations.”
Thwaites added that the lawsuit is “a sweeping, rambling and baseless lawsuit by an insurance company on the verge of bankruptcy.”
“This is intended to intimidate and harass doctors from charging the costs of care provided to American insurance companies and their riders,” Thwaites continued. “American Transit rushed to file the lawsuit without examining Dr. Huston or expressing any concerns to his attorneys. The real story here is about an insurance company abusing the legal system to limit and restrict health care benefits for its insureds and their riders, and write off its corresponding liabilities.
What did Sunny Hostin say about the lawsuit?
Sunny Hostin
Gary Gershoff/Getty ImagesIn a statement to Entertainment WeeklySunny criticized the “frivolous civil suit” against her husband and about 200 other doctors.
“In an attempt to poison public opinion because it did not have a valid case against my husband, American Transit instead used my celebrity status to launch a disgusting media smear campaign against my husband, which included me and our children,” she said. He said. “They plastered our family photos all over the tabloid publications.
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American Transit is harassing me and my family in a frantic attempt to not pay their bills. Our family will not be intimidated and harassed. We are still not giving up.”
Hostin confirmed that she kept it Mark Geragos Acts as her attorney and has “notified American Transit and will file a countersuit for $5 million for its defamatory claims, an amount that will likely increase given the difficulty of determining at this time what harm American Transit intentionally caused.”
“Furthermore, we demand that they withdraw these false allegations, pay what is owed to my husband and issue a public apology,” Sunny continued. “Insurers like American Transit are making it nearly impossible for Americans to navigate our already broken health care system and get quality health care by engaging in despicable tactics like harassing doctors. Let me be clear, where I'm coming from, American Transit will get Doctoral degree from FAFO University.
