This ground-breaking case is the first settlement against an entity in this industry

Today, the nationally recognized law firm of Baron & Budd announced a $22 million settlement in a lawsuit filed against Essilor Laboratories of America, for violations of the False Claims Act, alleging the company provided kickbacks and other incentives to eye care providers (ECPs) in exchange for pushing its expensive lens products on consumers. Some of the most common ECPs and retailers that utilize Essilor products include Visionworks, Vision Source, LensCrafters, Pearl Vision, Sunglass Hut, and many others.

According to the complaint, Essilor provided ECPs and others with cash, gift cards, retirement plan matching, free or discounted services, interest free financing, lavish entertainment, and other things of value for the purpose of illegally inducing and/or rewarding those providers to purchase eyeglass lenses, lens coatings and lab services primarily or exclusively from Essilor-owned labs, including eyeglass lenses for beneficiaries of various Government Healthcare Programs, all in return for or to induce purchasing or ordering of goods or items for which payment was made by Government Healthcare Programs, in violation of federal and state Anti-Kickback Statutes.

Under the Anti-Kickback Statute, manufacturers of medical products, such as prescription eyeglass lenses and coatings, may not offer or pay cash or other items of value, directly or indirectly, to induce healthcare professionals or others to order or recommend products that may be paid for by a Federal healthcare program.

The lawsuit was brought under the False Claims Act by a whistleblower who is a former employee of Essilor Laboratories of America. The False Claims Act makes it unlawful for any person to present (or cause to be presented) false claims to the Government. In this case, the whistleblower alleged that Essilor caused the ECPs to present claims for payment to Government Healthcare Programs (i.e., Medicare and Medicaid), where the claims were false or fraudulent because Essilor illegally induced the ECPs to use Essilor lenses, lens coatings, and lab services.

This case exemplifies the successful prosecution of fraud through the public/private partnership between whistleblowers and the Department of Justice. Whistleblowing insiders are a vital asset in the identification and prosecution of these fraud cases.

“Billions of taxpayer dollars are paid to fund Government healthcare programs like Medicare and Medicaid. These fraudulent schemes perpetuated by Essilor waste valuable taxpayer dollars,” said Baron & Budd Shareholder Scott Simmer. “This case alleged that eye care providers were given a shopping list of rebates and other bribes to induce their loyalty and prescribe Essilor products over cheaper alternatives. Device makers like Essilor need to be held accountable for these explicit violations of the False Claims Act.”

Baron & Budd worked collaboratively with the attorneys at the Weiser Law Firm who were also representing whistleblowers in this case. Information provided by the whistleblowers is what uncovered the fraudulent scheme and resulted in the settlement with Essilor. The whistleblower attorneys at Baron & Budd also brought a similar case against Essilor last year alleging violations of the California Insurance Fraud Protection Act in which the California Department of Insurance has intervened. The allegations in that lawsuit claim that Essilor drove up the cost of benefits paid for by California eyecare insurers and their insureds by bribing ECPs to prescribe more expensive lenses, lens coatings, and to use Essilor lab services.

With more than 30 years of experience in Qui Tam cases, the attorneys on Baron & Budd’s whistleblower representation team have represented some numerous clients in government fraud cases returning over $6.0 billion to federal and state taxpayers, with whistleblower recovery shares as high as 49%.

About Baron & Budd, P.C.

Baron & Budd, P.C. is among the largest and most accomplished plaintiffs’ law firms in the country. With more than 45 years of experience, Baron & Budd has the expertise and resources to handle complex litigation throughout the United States. As a law firm that takes pride in remaining at the forefront of litigation, Baron & Budd has spearheaded many significant cases for hundreds of entities and thousands of individuals. Since the firm was founded in 1977, Baron & Budd has achieved substantial national acclaim for its work on cutting-edge litigation, trying hundreds of cases to verdict and settling tens of thousands of cases in areas of litigation as diverse and significant as dangerous and highly addictive pharmaceuticals, defective medical devices, asbestos and mesothelioma, California wildfires and environmental contamination, fraudulent banking practices, e-cigarettes, motor vehicles, federal and state whistleblower cases, and other consumer fraud issues.

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