The Department of Justice said the Campus Eye resolution was its first declination of a health care company under its new corporate enforcement policy, while separately announcing a seven-count indictment against E. Bruce DiDonato.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) declined to prosecute Campus Eye Management Holdings LLC and its subsidiary after the company voluntarily disclosed misconduct, cooperated with the investigation, addressed the misconduct, and agreed to repay $1 million to victims. Separately, prosecutors announced a seven-count indictment against E. Bruce DiDonato, alleging he orchestrated diagnostic testing and kickback schemes that included billing Medicare for unnecessary diagnostic eye tests, paid illegal kickbacks for surgical referrals, and caused approximately $3.4 million in fraudulent Medicare claims, of which Medicare paid approximately $1 million.
The DOJ said its decision to decline prosecution of Campus Eye reflected factors outlined in the Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy, including the company's voluntary disclosure, cooperation with investigators, remediation efforts, compliance improvements, the absence of aggravating factors, and agreement to compensate victims.
In a separate action, the DOJ announced criminal charges against E. Bruce DiDonato. While the Department declined to prosecute Campus Eye, DiDonato was indicted on charges including conspiracy to commit health care fraud, conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute, two counts of health care fraud, and three counts of payment of illegal health care kickbacks. The charges remain allegations, and DiDonato is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. If convicted for all counts charged, he faces a potential maximum of 45 years total in prison.
"The Department's policies afford companies that take responsibility for their misconduct with a clear path to a declination. Businesses that ignore the law and profit from their executive's lies and deceit will be held accountable," said Colin M. McDonald, Assistant Attorney General of the National Fraud Enforcement Division.
Source: US Department of Justice
