Over $5M Sought In Data Breach Lawsuits Against South Jersey Eye Care Company

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — Two people have filed federal lawsuits against a Camden County eye care company, seeking more than $5 million for customers whose personal security was affected by a data hack.

Arizona residents Bonita Odell and Ian Torres filed class-action suits in Camden federal court against U.S. Vision and its subsidiary USV Optical. The companies share a building on Harmon Drive in Blackwood, court records show.

U.S. Vision identified there was unauthorized access to some of the USV Optical network servers and systems for about a month in 2021. Some customers' information may have been at risk, the company said at the time, but there was "no evidence of any identity theft or fraud occurring as a result of this incident."

The customer and employee data at risk included names, Social Security numbers, eye care insurance information, subscriber details, claims information, and other personal details. U.S. Vision operates optical care and eye ware retail centers at more than 350 locations, including in JCPenney, Boscov's, and the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES).

Torres' lawsuit is filed on behalf of approximately 180,000 other affected customers, and seeks $5 million in damages. The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights estimates 180,000 people were affected.

He claims U.S. Vision maintained customers' private information in a negligent and/or reckless manner; and failed to provide timely, accurate, and adequate notices about the hack, court records show.

Torres also claims U.S. Vision did not have proper cybersecurity, though company leaders were aware of data leak risks.

Torres received eye care from Nationwide Vision, a business associate of U.S. Vision, according to court documents. Nationwide Vision's parent company did not learn until September 22, 2022 which customers had been affected, court documents show.

According to court records, Torres received a letter dated October 28, 2022 notifying him that his personal information was involved in the data hack. He also got a letter from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service in September saying someone tried to file a false tax return in his name, court records show.

Since then, he has spent time and money securing his accounts and taking protective measures, court records show.

Torres' lawsuit, filed on Nov. 10 in Camden federal court, demands a trial by jury. U.S. Vision Inc. and USV Optical Inc. are listed as defendants.

Odell's lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary relief and was filed Nov. 23 in Camden federal court. She is also demanding a trial by jury, as well. Her lawsuit lists U.S. Vision Inc. and USV Optical Inc. as defendants, as well as Arizona-based Nationwide Optometry. Nationwide is a partner of U.S. Vision.

Odell's lawsuit estimates 711,072 individuals had their data exposed, though court papers do not give a source for that estimate. She was a Nationwide Vision customer in 2019 and 2020, court papers show.

Odell also claims the companies failed to take adequate security measures to protect customer data. She, too, received a letter from Nationwide in October 2022 saying her personal identifying information and personal health information were involved in the breach.

Odell and her family have seen "a dramatic increase" in the amount of spam telephone calls she has received since the data breach, court records show.

U.S. Vision is itself a subsidiary of Refac Optical Group. Patch has reached out to the company for comment.

Court records show that U.S. Vision is incorporated in Delaware, and USV Optical is incorporated in Texas. Both have a headquarters at 1 Harmon Drive, Blackwood.