| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to the creation of a criminal offense concerning the |
|
|
making of certain fraudulent claims. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 32, Penal Code, is amended |
|
|
by adding Section 32.55 to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 32.55. FRAUDULENT CLAIMS. (a) A person commits an |
|
|
offense if, with the intent to defraud or deceive another and in |
|
|
support of a claim for payment or compensation for bodily injury or |
|
|
property damage, the person: |
|
|
(1) prepares or causes to be prepared a statement |
|
|
that: |
|
|
(A) the person knows contains false or misleading |
|
|
material information; and |
|
|
(B) is presented to another for the purpose of |
|
|
obtaining payment or compensation for bodily injury or property |
|
|
damage; or |
|
|
(2) presents or causes to be presented to another a |
|
|
statement that the person knows contains false or misleading |
|
|
material information. |
|
|
(b) A person commits an offense if the person, with the |
|
|
intent to defraud or deceive another, engages in any conduct with |
|
|
the intent to obtain or cause a payment, settlement, or other |
|
|
benefit as compensation for bodily injury or property damage. |
|
|
(c) For purposes of Subsection (a), information is material |
|
|
if the information concerns: |
|
|
(1) the manner in which the bodily injury or property |
|
|
damage arose; |
|
|
(2) whether bodily injury or another condition arose |
|
|
from the event or conduct claimed to cause the bodily injury or |
|
|
other condition; |
|
|
(3) the extent or magnitude of the bodily injury or |
|
|
property damage; or |
|
|
(4) the effects, if any, of the bodily injury or |
|
|
property damage. |
|
|
(d) An offense under Subsection (a) is: |
|
|
(1) a Class C misdemeanor if the value of the claim is |
|
|
less than $50; |
|
|
(2) a Class B misdemeanor if the value of the claim is |
|
|
$50 or more but less than $500; |
|
|
(3) a Class A misdemeanor if the value of the claim is |
|
|
$500 or more but less than $1,500; |
|
|
(4) a state jail felony if the value of the claim is |
|
|
$1,500 or more but less than $20,000; |
|
|
(5) a felony of the third degree if the value of the |
|
|
claim is $20,000 or more but less than $100,000; |
|
|
(6) a felony of the second degree if the value of the |
|
|
claim is $100,000 or more but less than $200,000; or |
|
|
(7) a felony of the first degree if: |
|
|
(A) the value of the claim is $200,000 or more; |
|
|
or |
|
|
(B) an act committed in connection with the |
|
|
commission of the offense places a person at risk of death or |
|
|
serious bodily injury. |
|
|
(e) An offense under Subsection (b) is a state jail felony. |
|
|
(f) The court shall order a defendant convicted of an |
|
|
offense under this section to pay restitution, including court |
|
|
costs and attorney's fees, to an affected person. |
|
|
(g) If conduct that constitutes an offense under this |
|
|
section also constitutes an offense under any other law, the actor |
|
|
may be prosecuted under this section, the other law, or both. |
|
|
(h) For purposes of this section, if the actor proves by a |
|
|
preponderance of the evidence that a portion of the claim for |
|
|
payment or compensation resulted from a valid bodily injury or |
|
|
property damage, the value of the claim is equal to the difference |
|
|
between the total claim amount and the amount of the valid portion |
|
|
of the claim. |
|
|
(i) If it is shown on the trial of an offense under this |
|
|
section that the actor submitted a bill for goods or services in |
|
|
support of a claim for payment or compensation to another, a |
|
|
rebuttable presumption exists that the actor caused the claim for |
|
|
payment to be prepared or presented. |
|
|
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2007. |