A.G. Schneiderman Announces Judgment Against Man Who Illegally Operated Optometry Shop; Practiced Without License

ROCHESTER – Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced the Consent Judgment against Shamil Tadros, of Tonawanda, New York, to settle the Attorney General’s investigation of charges that Tadros practiced as an optician without the required license. 

In 2013, Tadros was convicted by the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) of Scheme to Defraud and Unauthorized Practice of Optometry and Ophthalmic Dispensing (an “optician”), both class E Felonies.  At that time, Tadros fraudulently billed Medicaid and others for services he unlawfully rendered without a license.  Tadros, who has a degree in optometry, never passed the licensing exam.  Tadros was sentenced to a 3 year conditional discharge with the following conditions: to pay back $116,821 in criminal restitution, to complete 150 hours of community service, and to consent to random practice checks of his optical shop. The court order requires Pittsford Optical to keep a licensed optician on site when it is open until it is sold. He will be available to see consumers who were serviced by Tadros to review and refit glasses, if needed at no charge.

“Those who provide medical services without a license put their own financial interest ahead of a patient’s health,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “Our office will continue to aggressively prosecute fraudsters who put patients at risk to line their pockets.”

During a random inspection by MFCU Investigators in the fall of 2015, Tadros was found once again to be unlawfully practicing as an optician without the required license at Pittsford Optical in Pittsford, New York.  The Attorney General issued a Cease and Desist Letter directing Tadros to stop his illegal activities immediately and sought a Court Order against Tadros and Pittsford Optical.

The court order permanently bars Tadros from providing ophthalmic dispensing services without a license, requires that the Pittsford Optical store in Pittsford, New York owned by his father Anglo Tadros, be sold and requires Tadros to pay $10,000.00 in fines and costs of the investigation.  A violation of the court order is punishable as contempt of court.

The investigation was conducted by MFCU Investigator Jason Rice and Associate Special Auditor-Investigator Grace Quinn, with assistance from Deputy Chief Investigator William Falk and Principal Auditor Thomas Clarke. The case was handled by Assistant Attorney General Benjamin Bruce for the Rochester Regional Office. The Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Rochester Regional Office is Ted O’Brian and Catherine Wagner is the MFCU Rochester Regional Director and MFCU Chief of Criminal Investigations. The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is led by Director Amy Held.  The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is part of the Division of Criminal Justice, which is led by Executive Deputy Attorney General Kelly Donovan.