Press Releases

(Hartford, CT) -- Attorney General William Tong announced today that Connecticut has joined 34 other states in settling allegations of kickbacks paid to referring providers against Essilor International, Essilor of America Inc., Essilor Laboratories of America Inc., and Essilor Instruments USA (Essilor), headquartered in Dallas. Essilor manufactures, markets, and distributes optical lenses and equipment used to produce optical lenses. Pursuant to the settlement, Essilor will pay the United States and 35 states a total of $22 million plus interest. The Connecticut Medicaid program will be paid $999,698.91 through the settlement.

“Essilor offered unlawful kickbacks to encourage optometrists and ophthalmologists to order and purchase their products, resulting in tainted claims to Medicaid programs nationwide. Our settlement forces Essilor to pay $22 million to the federal government and 35 states. Together, we are sending a strong message to manufacturers and medical providers that these types of kickbacks are unlawful and will not be tolerated,” said Attorney General Tong.

“By causing tainted claims to be submitted to the State’s Medicaid Program, Essilor’s actions resulted in the company improperly diverting Medicaid Funds needed by our most vulnerable state residents. This collaborative investigative effort between the Attorney General’s office, the state Department of Social Services, the Division of Criminal Justice and other state and federal agencies...

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