DOJ Issues First Healthcare Declination Under New Department-Wide Corporate Enforcement Policy

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ or Department) on July 29, 2026, announced that it declined to bring criminal healthcare fraud charges against Campus Eye Management and its parent, Campus Eye Management Holdings LLC – the first healthcare fraud declination under DOJ's new Department-wide Corporate Enforcement Policy (CEP), released March 10, 2026. The same day, DOJ unsealed a seven-count indictment against Campus Eye's founder, E. Bruce DiDonato, for an alleged years-long billing and kickback scheme.

The CEP applies to all criminal corporate matters except antitrust and supersedes prior component-specific corporate enforcement policies. It creates significant incentives for companies to come forward when misconduct occurs by rewarding those that voluntarily self-disclose, cooperate and remediate while making clear that companies that do not self-disclose may face criminal enforcement. Absent aggravating circumstances, DOJ generally will decline to prosecute a company that 1) voluntarily self-discloses before DOJ learns of the misconduct from another source, 2) fully cooperates with the investigation, 3) timely and appropriately remediates, including by enhancing its compliance program, and 4) disgorges ill-gotten gains or pays restitution.

Campus Eye's declination signals DOJ's commitment to rewarding timely self-disclosure in healthcare fraud enforcement, an area that remains a significant enforcement priority. In 2025, the National Healthcare Fraud Takedown resulted in criminal charges against 324 defendants involving intended losses exceeding $14.6 billion, making it the largest healthcare fraud takedown in DOJ history. In 2026, the National Healthcare Fraud Takedown resulted in criminal charges against 455 defendants and, according to DOJ, marked a new era of federal and state cooperation to combat healthcare fraud, involving cases in 56 federal districts and 45 U.S. states and territories, with participation from 50 state Medicaid Fraud Control Units – the most in Department history.

The key takeaway for healthcare providers is straightforward: Companies that timely self-disclose misconduct, fully cooperate with DOJ and strengthen their compliance programs may have a meaningful opportunity to obtain a declination, even where individual misconduct may be substantial.

Background

Campus Eye Management, a New Jersey optometry practice that describes itself as one of the largest freestanding eye care centers in the country, came under DOJ scrutiny based on alleged conduct by DiDonato. According to the indictment, from at least 2015 through March 2023, DiDonato allegedly orchestrated a scheme to bill Medicare and private insurers for unnecessary diagnostic eye tests that were never reviewed by DiDonato or any optometrist and were largely disregarded by the referring ophthalmologists. DOJ further alleges that DiDonato paid illegal kickbacks to those ophthalmologists in exchange for patient referrals. According to the indictment, the scheme generated approximately $1 million in fraudulent Medicare reimbursements to Campus Eye, and DiDonato later marketed the company to private equity investors partly on the strength of those reimbursements.

Despite the seriousness of the alleged conduct, DOJ declined to prosecute Campus Eye and its parent, crediting the company's 1) timely self-disclosure, 2) full cooperation with the investigation and 3) willingness to "substantial[ly]" strengthen its compliance program, including conducting ongoing risk assessments and monitoring, hiring new personnel with compliance responsibilities and implementing compliance trainings. Campus Eye also agreed to pay $1 million in restitution. As DiDonato's separate seven-count indictment demonstrates, a corporate declination does not shield allegedly culpable individuals from prosecution. Indeed, DOJ's decision to pursue DiDonato underscores the Department's longtime focus on pursuing and holding accountable "individual wrongdoers" who defraud the government.¹

Key Takeaways and Practical Recommendations

The Campus Eye declination offers a clear road map for healthcare providers:

• Maintain a Robust Compliance Program. Treat compliance as a core risk management function, not overhead. Regularly audit and document compliance enhancements in accordance with DOJ's compliance-program guidance; active, evergreen, well-resourced compliance programs can be the difference between a declination and a costly resolution or enforcement action.
• Prioritize Compliance During Mergers and Acquisitions. Conduct thorough billing, reimbursement and Anti-Kickback Statute diligence, not just financial diligence, before acquiring healthcare providers. After closing, promptly integrate the acquired entity into the company's compliance program and ensure ongoing oversight.
• Maintain Effective Internal Reporting Mechanisms. Establish well-publicized internal reporting channels that encourage employees to raise concerns early so potential misconduct can be identified, investigated and remediated before it escalates.

The first healthcare declination under DOJ's CEP provides an important indication that the Department intends to apply the CEP as written in healthcare fraud cases. Though each matter will remain highly fact-specific, the Campus Eye declination reinforces that timely self-disclosure, full cooperation and meaningful remediation can provide a path for a company to obtain a favorable resolution.

Notes

¹ In announcing the new CEP earlier this year, Deputy U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche noted that the CEP "creates incentives for companies to come forward and do the right thing when misconduct occurs so that we may hold accountable the individual wrongdoers." See DOJ press release "Department of Justice Releases First-Ever Corporate Enforcement Policy for All Criminal Cases" (March 10, 2026). Likewise, in announcing Department priorities in a 2025 memorandum, Matthew Galeotti, then head of the Criminal Division, stated that the Department's "first priority is to prosecute individual criminals," as it is "individuals – whether executives, officers, or employees of companies – who commit these crimes, often at the expense of shareholders, workers, and American investors and consumers." See DOJ memorandum "Focus, Fairness, and Efficiency in the Fight Against White-Collar Crime" (May 12, 2025).<

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