California's Criminal Fraud Laws - A Quick Legal Guide

You run afoul of California’s criminal fraud laws anytime you use deception or deceit to:

commit an act that results in an unfair or undeserved benefit for yourself, and/or
cause harm or loss to another person.

Fraudulent acts are most frequently driven by two motives:

financial gain, or
the desire to escape criminal culpability.

That said, there are a substantial number of fraudulent acts that state law penalizes – some that are clearly based on these motives and some that are not.

Penalties

Often referred to as white-collar crimes, these fraud offenses can subject you to high fines and significant jail or prison sentences. Many of these crimes carry specific penalties, while others are prosecuted under

Many state fraud crimes are wobbler offenses, which means that prosecutors may charge them as misdemeanor offenses or felony offenses, depending on

the facts of the case, and
your criminal history.

There are also a number of fraud offenses that are automatic felonies.

In addition, many fraud offenses are also federal crimes, which means that you could be prosecuted for a fraud offense in state court as well as in a federal court, subjecting you to increased penalties.

Fraud offenses are also typically considered crimes of moral turpitude, which means that fraud convictions subject even legal resident aliens to removal or deportation.

Furthermore, fraud offenses such as professional license suspension and/or revocation.

And finally, the government may validly seize any money or other property that was involved in the fraudulent activity through a process authorized under California fraud offenses.

Legal Defenses

Fortunately, there are a variety of legal defenses that apply to fraud crimes that a skilled criminal defense attorney can present on your behalf. Some of the most common include (but are not limited to):

you didn’t have fraudulent intent (if you don’t intend to commit a fraud, you are not guilty of committing fraud),
you were the victim of mistaken identity, and/or
you deserve an acquittal based on the legal defense of entrapment (entrapment serves as a defense if you can prove that you only committed fraud because the police lured or coerced you into doing so).

Below, our California criminal defense attorneys¹ explain the most common types of fraud offenses including

If, after reading this article, you would like more information, we invite you to contact us at Shouse Law Group. Also see our article on CARES Act fraud.

Generally speaking, you commit fraud anytime you commit an act that results in an unfair or undeserved benefit for yourself, and/or cause harm or loss to another person.

1. California Insurance Fraud Offenses

You commit insurance fraud when you attempt to obtain insurance payments or benefits to which you are not otherwise entitled. Examples of insurance fraud include the following:

1.1. Automobile insurance fraud laws

You violate California’s automobile insurance fraud laws when you attempt to obtain money fraudulently from an auto insurance carrier by engaging in acts such as

“staging” an accident,
inflating the price of a claim, or
setting fire to your vehicle and reporting it stolen.

1.2. Health care insurance fraud laws

Doctors, pharmacists, medical equipment suppliers and hospital employees are just some of the players that may be involved in violating California’s health care insurance fraud laws. Examples of these types of violations include (but are not limited to):

charging for medical services that were not provided,
receiving “kickbacks” for prescribing certain drugs,
engaging in doctor shopping or prescription fraud by securing multiple prescriptions for the same drug, and/or
double billing or over-billing for services rendered.

1.3. Medi-Cal insurance fraud laws

Most acts that violate California’s Medi-Cal insurance fraud laws are simultaneously violations of health care fraud. For example, a doctor who bills Medi-Cal (the state health insurance program for low income people) for services he/she did not perform, commits Medi-Cal fraud as well as the more generic crime of health care fraud.

1.4. Unemployment insurance fraud laws

California’s unemployment insurance fraud laws prohibit intentional attempts to increase, reduce or deny an unemployment insurance benefit. Examples include (but are not limited to):

falsifying your work-search efforts,
collecting benefits in two or more states, and
intentionally providing false information about why an employee was terminated…or about his/her wages…to avoid contributing to the unemployment insurance program.

1.5. Welfare fraud laws

You violate California’s welfare fraud laws (10980 WIC) when you try to obtain or increase welfare benefits to which you are not legally entitled. There are two types of welfare fraud:

recipient fraud (which includes trying to secure fraudulent benefits), and
internal fraud (where an employee of a government agency that distributes welfare benefits attempts to collect or distribute unlawful benefits from that agency).

1.6. Workers’ compensation laws

You violate California’s workers’ compensation laws when you try to make a fraudulent claim against this state’s workers’ compensation insurance program. Examples of this type of fraud include (but are not limited to):

faking an injury (or exaggerating the extent of the injury),
claiming that a non-work injury is work-related, and
failing to disclose a prior injury that would be relevant to your current claim.¹

Real estate and mortgage fraud laws punish any deliberate false representation that is made in connection with any portion of a real estate transaction.

2. California Real Estate & Mortgage Fraud Offenses

California’s real estate and mortgage fraud laws punish any deliberate false representation that is made in connection with any portion of a real estate transaction.

The most common examples of real estate and mortgage fraud include (but are not limited to):

2.1. Foreclosure fraud

California foreclosure fraud is one of the most frequently prosecuted types of real estate fraud. In simple terms, foreclosure fraud takes place when a person…often a self-proclaimed foreclosure “consultant”…represents that he/she can postpone or prevent a pending foreclosure. More generally, you commit this type of fraud anytime you engage in a fraudulent activity that has to do with a foreclosed home or a home that is involved in the foreclosure process.

2.2. Laws against forging deeds

Forgery is defined as knowingly altering, creating or using a written document with the intent to commit fraud. As a result, California’s laws against forging deeds prohibit

attempting to file, register or record a forged deed, and/or
filing a forged deed.

2.3. Predatory lending schemes

Predatory lending refers to unlawful practices by banks and other lending institutions that take advantage of unsuspecting borrowers. Simply put, you violate California’s laws against predatory lending when you…as a lender…manage a loan transaction to extract the maximum value for yourself without regard for the borrower’s ability to repay the loan.

2.4. Illegal property flipping

Property flipping is generally a legal practice. It typically involves a buyer who purchases a property below market value, upgrades it and then quickly sells it for a profit.

Illegal property flipping in California…a violation of real estate and mortgage fraud laws…occurs when you create fraudulent appraisals and/or loan documents to justify an inflated asking price.

2.5. Rent skimming laws

You violate California’s rent skimming laws when you

use rent proceeds from your residential rental property at any time during the first year after acquiring the property without first applying that amount to your mortgage, or
rent a property that you don’t own or have the authority to rent and collect the rent for your own use.

Generally, rent skimming is a civil offense, subjecting you only to fines. However, if you engage in rent skimming with five or more properties within in any two-year period, the acts will be prosecuted criminally as well.

2.6. Straw buyer schemes

California straw buyer schemes wreak havoc on those deemed the “straws”. These individuals are recruited by real estate agents or brokers because of their good credit. The professional convinces the straw to use his/her information to secure a loan for another buyer…or even a fictitious buyer…who allegedly can’t acquire the loan because of poor credit.

Once the loan is processed, the agents…and any other players such as a mortgage broker…collect the loan money and run. The straw is then left responsible for the mortgage, which ultimately causes him/her to generally declare bankruptcy and face possible criminal charges.

2.7. Phantom help schemes

California phantom help schemes are specifically prohibited under foreclosure fraud law. There are three types of phantom help schemes:

A so-called “foreclosure consultant” or “mortgage modification specialist” charges a homeowner who is facing foreclosure a fee to delay or prevent the foreclosure process when he/she in fact does little or no work towards this goal,
A seller markets a home that is pending foreclosure to an unsuspecting buyer who is unaware of the foreclosure. The “seller” collects a down payment and delivers a fake or unrecorded deed that does not convey any title to the property.
A “consultant” convinces the homeowner to make his/her mortgage payments directly to the consultant who claims that he/she will serve as a liaison between the homeowner and the bank in an effort to slow or stop the foreclosure process.²

3. Generic Types of California Financial Fraud

There are a number of generic fraud offenses that involve undeserved financial gain. Some of the more prevalent offenses include

3.1. Check fraud

You commit California check fraud by making, using or possessing…or attempting to make or use…a check when you

intend to defraud the payee, and
reveal that intent by representing the check to be genuine.

This is not the same as bad checks law which prohibits passing or attempting to pass a check knowing that there are insufficient funds to cover the full amount of the check. Trying to pass a check in violation of bad checks law also constitutes California check fraud.

3.2. Credit card fraud

California credit card fraud, not surprisingly, involves any fraudulent transaction that is made or attempted with respect to a credit or debit card or with the account information that is linked to a credit or debit card.

Typical examples of this offense involve

using someone else’s credit card without their authorization,
selling counterfeit credit cards, and/or
using your own credit/debit card knowing that the card is expired or has been revoked.

3.3. Securities fraud

California securities fraud …also known as stock fraud or investment fraud…involves practices that encourage investors to make decisions based on false information. This type of fraud can include stealing from investors, misstating a company’s value or even counterfeiting or altering a company’s financial statements.

Stock traders,
promoters,
accountants, and
traders

are the typical players that are involved in these types of schemes.³

4. Forgery and Identity Theft

Forging any type of document is a fraudulent offense. And because many forged documents have to do with one’s identification, these types of offenses not only violate state fraud laws but also forgery laws and identity theft laws as well.

Some of the most common types of fraud offenses that fall under these categories are listed below.

4.1. Laws against forging, counterfeiting or possessing a fraudulent public seal

California’s laws against forging, counterfeiting or possessing a fraudulent public seal prohibit just that. What’s interesting is that this crime is not limited to California seals. You can be convicted of this offense for engaging in any of the above activities with respect to any public seal, whether it is the seal of any government, government agency or corporation.

And if you violate this law by forging a public seal on a document that lends you someone else’s identity, you violate identity theft law as well.

4.2. Laws against forging or counterfeiting a driver’s license or ID card

Similarly, if you violate California’s laws against forging or counterfeiting a driver’s license or ID card…and you assign yourself a different name…you would also be guilty of identity theft. However, it isn’t necessary that you commit identity theft in order to violate this law.

All that is required under this fraud offense is that you alter a government issued driver’s license or ID card…again, any government will do, this law does not exclusively pertain to state-issued cards…or make a counterfeit one.

And it is important to note that possessing a fake or counterfeit driver’s license or ID card is also fraud.

4.3. False Personation Law

You violate California’s false personation law when you pose as another person in order to secure a benefit for yourself and/or to harm the other individual. This is clear identity theft.

Common examples include

signing someone else’s name to a check and trying to cash it as if you’re that individual…which is also check fraud, or
using someone else’s name to obtain welfare benefits…which is also a violation of welfare laws.

Oftentimes this type of offense takes place over the Internet – common examples include

using someone else’s credit card to make an online purchase, or
posing as someone in an online “chatroom” or by hacking into someone else’s social networking profile.

Both of these examples are also examples of Internet fraud, discussed below.

4.4. Internet fraud

California’s Internet fraud laws prohibit any fraudulent activity that takes place on a computer, such as in a chat-room, e-mail, or online store.

Making fraudulent online purchases,
creating or forwarding a computer virus, and/or
violating cyberstalking laws

are all examples of Internet fraud.⁴

Many state fraud offenses that specifically deal with seniors.

5. California Fraud Offenses Involving Elders

There are also a number of fraud offenses that specifically deal with seniors. These include

5.1. Senior fraud

You violate California’s elder abuse laws when you emotionally, physically or financially abuse an elder…that is, a person 65 years or older. When this type of abuse is financial, it typically qualifies as senior fraud.

Examples of the types of schemes that frequently qualify as financial elder abuse include (but are not limited to):

telemarketing schemes,
credit repair schemes,
home repair schemes,
funeral and cemetery senior fraud, and
real estate predatory lending elder abuse.

5.2. Nursing home fraud

Like elder abuse, nursing home abuse can be physical, emotional or financial. Instances of financial abuse are considered acts of
California nursing home fraud. This type of fraud can include acts such as

being an employee of the facility and convincing one of the elderly residents to sign over his/her property to the employee,
overbilling for care, and/or
forging the elder’s name on a check.

6. Miscellaneous California Fraud Offenses

Finally, there are a few other miscellaneous commonly prosecuted fraud offenses worth mentioning.

6.1. Mail fraud

Mail fraud is actually a federal offense. It includes any fraudulent activity that utilizes the postal system during the commission of the offense. This means that if, for example, you

use the mail to advertise fraudulent services,
send a forged check through the mail, or
intentionally fail to deliver a product that was ordered through the mail,

you may be convicted of mail fraud.

6.2. Handicapped parking fraud

You commit California handicapped parking fraud when you illegally use, misuse or lend to another person a handicapped parking placard. There are a variety of ways you can commit this offense, including (but not limited to):

using someone else’s placard to park when you are not disabled…and the true owner of the placard is not with you,
lending your placard to someone who isn’t entitled to use such a placard, or
displaying a fake, forged or expired handicapped placard.

6.3. Law against fraudulent vehicle registration stickers

If…in an effort to secure a financial gain and/or to avoid paying DMV taxes or fees…you intentionally interfere with

a license plate,
registration stickers, or
a registration card,

you are guilty of violating California’s law against fraudulent registration stickers. And…depending on how you interfere with these items…you could face additional charges for violating state law against forging, counterfeiting or possessing a fraudulent public seal.

6.4. Gambling fraud

Penal Code 332 PC prohibits fraudulently obtaining someone else’s money or property through card games, scams or tricks, such as:

Three card monte or other “confidence games”;
Cheating at card games or other gambling activities; and
Fraudulent fortune-telling.

California gambling fraud is punished based on the amount of money you are alleged to have fraudulently obtained through such activities. This offense carries misdemeanor penalties for amounts of $950 or less–but becomes a wobbler for amounts over $950.

6.5. Telemarketing Fraud

Business & Professions Code 17511.9 makes it a crime to engage in so-called “telemarketing fraud.” This means to use a deceitful or fraudulent business scheme or act to sell something. Telemarketing fraud is a wobbler punishable by up to one year in jail as a misdemeanor, and up to 3 years in custody as a felony.

Call us for help…

If you or a loved one is charged with fraud and you are looking to hire an attorney for representation, we invite you to contact us at Shouse Law Group. We can provide a consultation in the office or by phone. We have local offices in Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley, Pasadena, Long Beach, Orange County, Ventura, San Bernardino, Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside, San Diego, Sacramento, Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose and throughout California.

Additionally, our Las Vegas Nevada criminal defense attorneys are available to answer any questions about Nevada’s fraud laws. For more information, we invite you to contact our local attorneys at one of our Nevada law offices, located in Reno and Las Vegas.²

Legal References

PC 548; PC 549; PC 550; PC 551. See, for example, People v. Gregory (Court of Appeal of California, Third Appellate District, 1990) 217 Cal. App. 3d 665.
PC 487; Civil Code 2945.4; Civil Code 890; PC 115.
PC 476; PC 484e; PC 484f; PC 484g; PC 484h; PC 484i; PC 484j; Corporations Code 25540. See, for example, People v. Jenkins (Court of Appeal of California, First Appellate District, Division One, 1970) 3 Cal. App. 3d 529.
PC 550.5; PC 472; PC 470a; PC 529.
PC 368.
4461 VC; 4463 VC; PC 332; BPC 17511.

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