(Added by Stats. 1995, Ch. 460, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 1996.)
538g.
(a) Any person, other than a state, county, city, special district, or city and county officer or employee, who willfully wears, exhibits, or uses the authorized badge, photographic identification card, or insignia of a state, county, city, special district, or city and county officer or employee, with the intent of fraudulently personating a state, county, city, special district, or city and county officer or employee, or of fraudulently inducing the belief that he or she is a state, county, city, special district, or city and county officer or employee, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(b) Any person who willfully wears, exhibits, or uses, or willfully makes, sells, loans, gives, or transfers to another, any badge, photographic identification card, or insignia, which falsely purports to be for the use of a state, county, city, special district, or city and county officer or employee, or which so resembles the authorized badge, photographic identification card, or insignia of a state, county, city, special district, or city and county officer or employee as would deceive an ordinary reasonable person into believing that it is authorized for use by a state, county, city, special district, or city and county officer or employee, is guilty of a misdemeanor, except that any person who makes or sells any badge under the circumstances described in this subdivision is subject to a fine not to exceed fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000).
(c) This section shall not apply to either of the following:
(1) Use of a badge solely as a prop for a motion picture, television, or video production, or an entertainment or theatrical event.
(2) A badge supplied by a recognized employee organization as defined in Section 3501 of the Government Code or a state or international organization to which it is affiliated.
(Added by Stats. 2004, Ch. 22, Sec. 2. Effective March 5, 2004.)
538.5.
Every person who transmits or causes to be transmitted by means of wire, radio or television communication any words, sounds, writings, signs, signals, or pictures for the purpose of furthering or executing a scheme or artifice to obtain, from a public utility, confidential, privileged, or proprietary information, trade secrets, trade lists, customer records, billing records, customer credit data, or accounting data by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, personations, or promises is guilty of an offense punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170, or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year.
(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 15, Sec. 389. Effective April 4, 2011. Operative October 1, 2011, by Sec. 636 of Ch. 15, as amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 39, Sec. 68.)
539.
Every person who, with the intent to defraud, certifies that a person ordered by the court to participate in community service as a condition of probation has completed the number of hours of community service prescribed in the court order and the participant has not completed the prescribed number of hours, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(Added by Stats. 1993, Ch. 371, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 1994.)
CHAPTER 10. Crimes Against Insured Property and Insurers [548 — 551]
(Heading of Chapter 10 renumbered from Chapter 11 by Stats. 1979, Ch. 373.)
548.
(a) Every person who willfully injures, destroys, secretes, abandons, or disposes of any property which at the time is insured against loss or damage by theft, or embezzlement, or any casualty with intent to defraud or prejudice the insurer, whether the property is the property or in the possession of that person or any other person, is punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 for two, three, or five years and by a fine not exceeding fifty thousand dollars ($50,000).
For purposes of this section, “casualty” does not include fire.
(b) Any person who violates subdivision (a) and who has a prior conviction of the offense set forth in that subdivision, in Section 550 of this code, or in former Section 556 or former Section 1871.1 of the Insurance Code, shall receive a two-year enhancement for each prior conviction in addition to the sentence provided under subdivision (a). The existence of any fact which would subject a person to a penalty enhancement shall be alleged in the information or indictment and either admitted by the defendant in open court, or found to be true by the jury trying the issue of guilt or by the court where guilt is established by plea of guilty or nolo contendere or by trial by the court sitting without a jury.
(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 15, Sec. 390. Effective April 4, 2011. Operative October 1, 2011, by Sec. 636 of Ch. 15, as amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 39, Sec. 68.)
549.
Any firm, corporation, partnership, or association, or any person acting in his or her individual capacity, or in his or her capacity as a public or private employee, who solicits, accepts, or refers any business to or from any individual or entity with the knowledge that, or with reckless disregard for whether, the individual or entity for or from whom the solicitation or referral is made, or the individual or entity who is solicited or referred, intends to violate Section 550 of this code or Section 1871.4 of the Insurance Code is guilty of a crime, punishable upon a first conviction by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 for 16 months, two years, or three years, or by a fine not exceeding fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) or double the amount of the fraud, whichever is greater, or by both that imprisonment and fine. A second or subsequent conviction is punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 or by that imprisonment and a fine of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000). Restitution shall be ordered, including restitution for any medical evaluation or treatment services obtained or provided. The court shall determine the amount of restitution and the person or persons to whom the restitution shall be paid.
(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 15, Sec. 391. Effective April 4, 2011. Operative October 1, 2011, by Sec. 636 of Ch. 15, as amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 39, Sec. 68.)
550.
(a) It is unlawful to do any of the following, or to aid, abet, solicit, or conspire with any person to do any of the following:
(1) Knowingly present or cause to be presented any false or fraudulent claim for the payment of a loss or injury, including payment of a loss or injury under a contract of insurance.
(2) Knowingly present multiple claims for the same loss or injury, including presentation of multiple claims to more than one insurer, with an intent to defraud.
(3) Knowingly cause or participate in a vehicular collision, or any other vehicular accident, for the purpose of presenting any false or fraudulent claim.
(4) Knowingly present a false or fraudulent claim for the payments of a loss for theft, destruction, damage, or conversion of a motor vehicle, a motor vehicle part, or contents of a motor vehicle.
(5) Knowingly prepare, make, or subscribe any writing, with the intent to present or use it, or to allow it to be presented, in support of any false or fraudulent claim.
(6) Knowingly make or cause to be made any false or fraudulent claim for payment of a health care benefit.
(7) Knowingly submit a claim for a health care benefit that was not used by, or on behalf of, the claimant.
(8) Knowingly present multiple claims for payment of the same