The California Insurance Fraud Prevention Act (“CIFPA”), Ins. Code §§ 1871, et seq., is an anti-fraud statute applicable to all types of insurance fraud. The CIFPA is a broad reaching statute designed to prevent and punish fraud, specifically insurance fraud through imposing significant penalties and provides for recovery of damages, attorneys’ fees and costs, and a share of the penalties imposed by the successful whistleblower.
Two unique pieces of the CIFPA were discussed in State ex rel. Wilson v. Super. Ct. (2014) 227 Cal. App. 4th 579: (1) what constitutes a “fraudulent claim” and (2) the prohibition on employing “runners, cappers, [or] steerers.”
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You may be wondering if the value of your old and dusty gift certificate is still valid. In California, it is.
Under California law, it is unlawful to sell a gift certificate to a purchaser that contains an expiration date. See Cal. Civ. Code § 1749.5. Simply put, a gift certificate sold without an expiration date is valid until redeemed or replaced. Cal. Civ. Code § 1749.5(b). A similar federal law prohibits expiration periods shorter than five years. See Electronic Funds Transfer Act (the "EFTA"), 15 U.S.C. § 1693 et seq., and the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act (the "CARD Act"). These laws apply to in-store sales and also to sales on the Internet. These prohibitions also apply to both goods and services.
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