Founder And Former CEO of New Jersey Based Eye Care Group Charged with Health Care Fraud Conspiracy and Paying Illegal Kickbacks

NEWARK, N.J. -Charges were brought today against the founder and former CEO of a New Jersey based management company that oversaw an optometry practice and eye surgery center for conspiring to commit and committing health care fraud and violating the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, announced U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer.

E. Bruce DiDonato, 71, of Princeton, New Jersey, was charged in a seven-count Indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, two substantive counts of health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to offer and pay health care kickbacks in connection with illegal referrals, and three substantive counts of paying health care kickbacks.

"As alleged, the defendant used his company to pay doctors and surgeons illegal kickbacks in exchange for the surgeons bringing patients to his eye care practice, where they were subjected to unnecessary diagnostic tests all so the defendant could enrich himself by billing Medicare. This Office will continue to pursue and prioritize complex health care fraud schemes that waste Government funds and harm patients."

- U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer

"Dr. DiDonato's alleged deception of his patients, staff, and Medicare, which countless Americans depend on, is a scheme rife with disregard for the rules and integrity that govern the medical industry." says FBI Newark Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy. "People must be able to trust their doctors, and many do so, albeit blindly. This case demonstrates the FBI's commitment to rooting out fraudsters and bringing justice to the victims impacted by these crimes."

"Medicare patients deserve care guided by medical need, not illicit financial arrangements," said Special Agent in Charge Naomi D. Gruchacz of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. "As alleged, the defendant put profit ahead of patient well-being and misused the Medicare program through unnecessary testing and illegal kickbacks, diverting critical resources away from those who rely on them. HHS-OIG, alongside our law enforcement partners, remains steadfast in protecting patients, safeguarding taxpayer funds, and upholding the integrity of federally funded health care programs."

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

DiDonato was the founder of Campus Eye LLC and Campus Eye Surgery Center LLC, an optometry practice and ambulatory surgery center located in Hamilton Township, New Jersey. In 2021, DiDonato sold a portion of his interest in those entities to a private equity firm and assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer of a newly-formed management company, Campus Eye Management Holdings, LLC, and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Campus Eye Management, LLC (together, the "Campus Eye Entities"), which operated the optometry care practice and eye surgery center.

Both prior to and after he and outside investors formed the Campus Eye Entities and he became the CEO, DiDonato conspired with others to defraud Medicare by performing and billing for unnecessary diagnostic tests at the surgery center. DiDonato allegedly paid kickbacks and bribes to ophthalmologists in exchange for their referral of patients who needed eye surgeries and then subjected the patients to diagnostic tests that were duplicative of tests they had previously received or were unnecessary for the type of surgery being performed. Neither DiDonato nor the optometrist reviewed the tests, and in most instances the ophthalmologists did not review or rely on the tests to inform their treatment decisions in advance of surgery. DiDonato allegedly concealed the payment of kickbacks and bribes by creating sham agreements that described the payments as consulting fees, and paying in the form of monthly "flat fees" that were actually based on a percentage of the optometry practice's Medicare reimbursement for diagnostic tests performed on patients the providers had referred in the previous year. DiDonato allegedly caused the submission of approximately $3.4 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare, of which Medicare paid approximately $1 million.

If convicted, DiDonato faces a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment on the health care fraud conspiracy and substantive health care fraud counts, 5 years imprisonment on the kickback conspiracy count, and 10 years imprisonment for each of the substantive kickback counts.

Separately, the Department of Justice announced that it has resolved its criminal health care fraud investigation into the Campus Eye Entities pursuant to Part I of the Criminal Division's Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy (CEP). As part of the resolution, the Department has declined to prosecute the Campus Eye Entities for the healthcare fraud and kickback scheme carried out by DiDonato and others, and the Campus Eye Entities have agreed to pay $1 million in disgorgement.

United States Attorney Frazer credited special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy, in Newark, New Jersey, and the Department of Health and Human Services-Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Naomi Gruchacz, with the investigation.

The Department of Justice has established the National Fraud Enforcement Division. The core mission of the National Fraud Enforcement Division is to zealously investigate and prosecute those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars. The National Fraud Enforcement Division will fulfill that mission by coordinating with agencies responsible for administering benefit programs; partnering with federal, tribal, state, territorial, and local law enforcement on fraud-fighting efforts; developing systems and processes that ensure efficient identification of fraud against taxpayer dollars; and equipping prosecutors and law enforcement with state-of-the-art tools and resources needed to bring criminal actors to justice. The attorneys in the National Fraud Enforcement Division will work every day to protect the financial integrity of our government and the tax system that supports it.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jake A. Nasar and Unit Chief George L. Brandley of the Office's Health Care Fraud and Opioid Enforcement Unit, and Acting Assistant Chief Darren C. Halverson and Trial Attorney Lindsey D. Carsen of the Department of Justice Criminal Division's Fraud Section.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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Defense counsel: Thomas H. Barnard, Esq.