E. Bruce DiDonato, 71, of Princeton, New Jersey, was charged with submitting approximately $3.4 million in fraudulent Medicare claims, of which the government paid roughly $1 million, according to federal prosecutors in Newark. The founder and former CEO of Campus Eye LLC allegedly paid illegal kickbacks to ophthalmologists in exchange for patient referrals, then subjected those patients to unnecessary diagnostic tests at his surgery center in Hamilton Township.
DiDonato was indicted on seven counts: one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, two substantive health care fraud counts, one count of conspiracy to offer and pay kickbacks, and three substantive kickback counts. According to court documents, DiDonato concealed the illegal payments by creating sham consulting agreements and structuring payments as monthly “flat fees” that were actually calculated based on a percentage of Medicare reimbursements for diagnostic tests performed on referred patients.
“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,” U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer said in a statement. The charges describe a scheme in which neither DiDonato nor the optometrist reviewed the tests, and in most cases the ophthalmologists did not review or rely on the tests before performing surgery.
DiDonato founded Campus Eye LLC and Campus Eye Surgery Center LLC. In 2021, he sold a portion of his interest to a private equity firm and became CEO of Campus Eye Management Holdings, LLC and its subsidiary, Campus Eye Management, LLC, which operated both the optometry practice and surgery center. The scheme occurred both before and after this transition, prosecutors say.
Separately, the Department of Justice resolved its criminal investigation into the Campus Eye Entities under its Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy. The company agreed to pay $1 million in disgorgement, and prosecutors declined to charge the entities themselves.
If convicted on all counts, DiDonato faces a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment on the health care fraud charges, five years on the kickback conspiracy count, and 10 years for each substantive kickback count. The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.
