A federal judge in Minnesota held that DOJ was required to articulate the factual basis for its allegation that the defendants’ claims for payment resulted from kickbacks, rejecting the argument that such information was irrelevant based on a legal presumption of causation. The government alleged that defendants Precision Lens and Paul Ehlen provided kickbacks to physicians, including “lavish hunting, fishing and golf trips, private plane flights, frequent-flyer miles and other items of value,” to induce them to use products the defendants supplied. The government further alleged that these kickbacks violated the Anti-Kickback Statute, causing the submission of false claims to the government.
