Florida Senate - 2014                                    SB 1084
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Criminal Justice
       
       
       
       
       
       591-01847-14                                          20141084__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to public assistance fraud; amending
    3         s. 414.39, F.S.; providing enhanced criminal penalties
    4         if the value of public assistance or identification
    5         wrongfully received, retained, misappropriated,
    6         sought, or used is of an aggregate value exceeding
    7         specified amounts; providing for a reward for a report
    8         of original information relating to a violation of the
    9         state’s public assistance fraud laws if the
   10         information and report meet specified requirements;
   11         amending s. 414.095, F.S.; limiting to a specified
   12         period the use of temporary cash assistance benefits
   13         out of state; requiring rulemaking; requiring that a
   14         parent or caretaker relative who has been disqualified
   15         due to fraud have a protective payee designated to
   16         receive temporary cash assistance benefits for
   17         eligible children; providing requirements for
   18         protective payees; providing an effective date.
   19          
   20  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   21  
   22         Section 1. Subsections (1) through (5) of section 414.39,
   23  Florida Statutes, are amended, and subsection (11) is added to
   24  that section, to read:
   25         414.39 Fraud.—
   26         (1) Any person who knowingly:
   27         (a) Fails, by false statement, misrepresentation,
   28  impersonation, or other fraudulent means, to disclose a material
   29  fact used in making a determination as to such person’s
   30  qualification to receive public assistance under any state or
   31  federally funded assistance program;
   32         (b) Fails to disclose a change in circumstances in order to
   33  obtain or continue to receive any such public assistance to
   34  which he or she is not entitled or in an amount larger than that
   35  to which he or she is entitled; or
   36         (c) Aids and abets another person in the commission of any
   37  such act,
   38  
   39  commits is guilty of a crime and shall be punished as provided
   40  in subsection (5).
   41         (2) Any person who knowingly:
   42         (a) Uses, transfers, acquires, traffics, alters, forges, or
   43  possesses;, or
   44         (b) Attempts to use, transfer, acquire, traffic, alter,
   45  forge, or possess;, or
   46         (c) Aids and abets another person in the use, transfer,
   47  acquisition, traffic, alteration, forgery, or possession of,
   48  
   49  a food assistance identification card, an authorization,
   50  including, but not limited to, an electronic authorization, for
   51  the expenditure of food assistance benefits, a certificate of
   52  eligibility for medical services, or a Medicaid identification
   53  card in any manner not authorized by law commits a crime and
   54  shall be punished as provided in subsection (5).
   55         (3) Any person having duties in the administration of a
   56  state or federally funded public assistance program or in the
   57  distribution of public assistance, or authorizations or
   58  identifications to obtain public assistance, under a state or
   59  federally funded public assistance program and who:
   60         (a) Fraudulently misappropriates, attempts to
   61  misappropriate, or aids and abets in the misappropriation of,
   62  food assistance, an authorization for food assistance, a food
   63  assistance identification card, a certificate of eligibility for
   64  prescribed medicine, a Medicaid identification card, or public
   65  assistance from any other state or federally funded program with
   66  which he or she has been entrusted or of which he or she has
   67  gained possession by virtue of his or her position, or who
   68  knowingly fails to disclose any such fraudulent activity; or
   69         (b) Knowingly misappropriates, attempts to misappropriate,
   70  or aids or abets in the misappropriation of, funds given in
   71  exchange for food assistance program benefits or for any form of
   72  food assistance benefits authorization,
   73  
   74  commits is guilty of a crime and shall be punished as provided
   75  in subsection (5).
   76         (4) Any person who:
   77         (a) Knowingly files, attempts to file, or aids and abets in
   78  the filing of, a claim for services to a recipient of public
   79  assistance under any state or federally funded public assistance
   80  program for services that were not rendered; knowingly files a
   81  false claim or a claim for nonauthorized items or services under
   82  such a program; or knowingly bills the recipient of public
   83  assistance under such a program, or his or her family, for an
   84  amount in excess of that provided for by law or regulation;
   85         (b) Knowingly fails to credit the state or its agent for
   86  payments received from social security, insurance, or other
   87  sources; or
   88         (c) In any way knowingly receives, attempts to receive, or
   89  aids and abets in the receipt of, unauthorized payment or other
   90  unauthorized public assistance or authorization or
   91  identification to obtain public assistance as provided herein,
   92  
   93  commits is guilty of a crime and shall be punished as provided
   94  in subsection (5).
   95         (5)(a) If the value of the public assistance or
   96  identification wrongfully received, retained, misappropriated,
   97  sought, or used is less than an aggregate value of $200 in any
   98  12 consecutive months, such person commits a misdemeanor of the
   99  first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.
  100  775.083.
  101         (b) If the value of the public assistance or identification
  102  wrongfully received, retained, misappropriated, sought, or used
  103  is of an aggregate value of $200 or more, but less than $20,000
  104  in any 12 consecutive months, such person commits a felony of
  105  the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s.
  106  775.083, or s. 775.084.
  107         (c) If the value of the public assistance or identification
  108  wrongfully received, retained, misappropriated, sought, or used
  109  is of an aggregate value of $20,000 or more, but less than
  110  $100,000 in any 12 consecutive months, such person commits a
  111  felony of the second degree, punishable as provided in s.
  112  775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
  113         (d) If the value of the public assistance or identification
  114  wrongfully received, retained, misappropriated, sought, or used
  115  is of an aggregate value of $100,000 or more in any 12
  116  consecutive months, such person commits a felony of the first
  117  degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s.
  118  775.084.
  119         (e)(c) As used in this subsection, the value of a food
  120  assistance authorization benefit is the cash or exchange value
  121  unlawfully obtained by the fraudulent act committed in violation
  122  of this section.
  123         (f)(d) As used in this section, “fraud” includes the
  124  introduction of fraudulent records into a computer system, the
  125  unauthorized use of computer facilities, the intentional or
  126  deliberate alteration or destruction of computerized information
  127  or files, and the stealing of financial instruments, data, and
  128  other assets.
  129         (11)(a) Subject to availability of funds, the department or
  130  the director of the Office of Public Benefits Integrity shall,
  131  unless the person declines the reward, pay a reward to a person
  132  who furnishes and reports original information relating to a
  133  violation of the state’s public assistance fraud laws if the
  134  information and report:
  135         1. Are made to the department, the Department of Financial
  136  Services, or the Department of Law Enforcement.
  137         2. Relate to criminal fraud upon public assistance program
  138  funds or a criminal violation of public assistance fraud laws by
  139  another person.
  140         3. Lead to the recovery of a fine, penalty, or forfeiture
  141  of property.
  142         (b) The reward may not exceed 10 percent of the amount
  143  recovered or $500,000, whichever is less, in a single case.
  144         (c) The reward shall be paid from the state share of the
  145  recovery in the Federal Grants Trust Fund from moneys collected
  146  pursuant to s. 414.41.
  147         (d) A person who receives a reward pursuant to this
  148  subsection is not eligible to receive funds pursuant to the
  149  Florida False Claims Act for Medicaid fraud for which the reward
  150  was received.
  151         Section 2. Paragraphs (k) and (l) are added to subsection
  152  (14) of section 414.095, Florida Statutes, to read:
  153         414.095 Determining eligibility for temporary cash
  154  assistance.—
  155         (14) PROHIBITIONS AND RESTRICTIONS.—
  156         (k) Use of temporary cash assistance benefits out of state
  157  is limited to 30 consecutive days. The temporary cash assistance
  158  benefits of a recipient using his or her benefits out-of-state
  159  for more than 30 days shall be terminated. The department shall
  160  adopt rules providing for the determination of temporary absence
  161  and a recipient’s intent to return to the state.
  162         (l) A parent or caretaker relative who has been
  163  disqualified due to fraud must have a protective payee
  164  designated to receive temporary cash assistance benefits for an
  165  eligible child. The requirements for designation of a protective
  166  payee shall be the same as the requirements for designation of a
  167  protective payee for work sanctions in s. 414.065(2)(b). An
  168  individual disqualified for fraud cannot be designated as a
  169  protective payee. In a two-parent household, if only one parent
  170  is disqualified, the other parent may be designated as the payee
  171  of the benefit.
  172         Section 3. This act shall take effect October 1, 2014.