Essilor agrees to $22M settlement over kickback charges

Essilor, a manufacturer and distributor of optical lenses and equipment, will pay $22 million to settle allegations it paid kickbacks to spur sales in violation of the False Claims Act (FCA).

Dallas-based Essilor International and its subsidiaries Essilor of America, Essilor Laboratories of America, and Essilor Instruments USA conducted an incentive scheme from 2011-16 that paid optometrists and ophthalmologists to encourage patients to choose Essilor products, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said Tuesday in a press release. The alleged scheme violated the anti-kickback statute of the FCA.

Essilor will pay $16.4 million to the federal government and $5.6 million to states whose Medicaid programs were affected by the alleged misconduct, according to the settlement agreement.