California Codes

Cal. Government Code § 12650 (2026)

✓ current as of May 2026
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(a)This article shall be known and may be cited as the False Claims Act.

(b)For purposes of this article:

(1)“Claim” means any request or demand, whether under a contract or otherwise, for money, property, or services, and whether or not the state or a political subdivision has title to the money, property, or services that meets either of the following conditions:

(A)Is presented to an officer, employee, or agent of the state or of a political subdivision.

(B)Is made to a contractor, grantee, or other recipient, if the money, property, or service is to be spent or used on a state or any political subdivision’s behalf or to advance a state or political subdivision’s program or interest, and if the state or political subdivision meets either of the following conditions:

(i)Provides or has provided any portion of the money, property, or service requested or demanded.

(ii)Reimburses the contractor, grantee, or other recipient for any portion of the money, property, or service that is requested or demanded.

(2)“Claim” does not include requests or demands for money, property, or services that the state or a political subdivision has paid to an individual as compensation for employment with the state or political subdivision or as an income subsidy with no restrictions on that individual’s use of the money, property, or services.

(3)“Knowing” and “knowingly” mean that a person, with respect to information, does any of the following:

(A)Has actual knowledge of the information.

(B)Acts in deliberate ignorance of the truth or falsity of the information.

(C)Acts in reckless disregard of the truth or falsity of the information.

Proof of specific intent to defraud is not required.

(4)“Material” means having a natural tendency to influence, or be capable of influencing, the payment or receipt of money, property, or services.

(5)“Obligation” means an established duty, whether or not fixed, arising from an express or implied contractual, grantor-grantee, or licensor-licensee relationship, from a fee-based or similar relationship, from statute or regulation, or from the retention of any overpayment.

(6)“Political subdivision” includes any city, city and county, county, tax or assessment district, or other legally authorized local governmental entity with jurisdictional boundaries.

(7)“Political subdivision funds” means funds that are the subject of a claim.

(8)“Prosecuting authority” refers to the county counsel, city attorney, or other local government official charged with investigating, filing, and conducting civil legal proceedings on behalf of, or in the name of, a particular political subdivision.

(9)“Person” includes any natural person, corporation, firm, association, organization, partnership, limited liability company, business, or trust.

(10)“State funds” mean funds that are the subject of a claim.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 133 cases (36 in the last 5 years), 1996–2026 · leading case: Wells v. One2One Learning Found., 141 P.3d 225 (Cal. 2006).
Wells v. One2One Learning Found., 141 P.3d 225 (Cal. 2006). · cites it 12× “Among other things, we must determine whether such entities, or any of them, are "persons" who may be sued (1) under the unfair competition law (UCL; Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17200 et seq.”
Fassberg Constr. Co. v. Hous. Auth., 152 Cal. App. 4th 720 (Cal. Ct. App. 2007). · cites it 6× “The court trebled the latter figure and awarded a civil penalty of $500 per false claim pursuant to the California False Claims Act (Gov. Code, § 12650 et seq.). The jury also found Fassberg liable for intentional misrepresentation and awarded the Housing Authority $1,559,000 in…”
Mcveigh v. Recology San Francisco, 213 Cal. App. 4th 443 (Cal. Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 4× “McVeigh’s whistleblower causes of action were brought under Government Code section 12653, part of California’s False Claims Act (CFCA) (Gov. Code, § 12650 et seq.), and Labor Code section 1102.”
State Ex Rel. Harris v. Pricewaterhousecoopers, LLP, 141 P.3d 256 (Cal. 2006). · cites it 3× “The California False Claims Act (CFCA; Gov. Code, § 12650 et seq.) provides that any “person” who knowingly submits a false claim to the State of California, or to a “political subdivision,” may be liable in a court action for treble damages and civil penalties.”
Thompson Pac. Constr. Inc. v. City of Sunnyvale, 66 Cal. Rptr. 3d 175 (Cal. Ct. App. 2007). · cites it 2× “The third paragraph merely repeats the instruction the trial court gave, which was that a person is liable only for “knowingly” making a false claim and that “knowingly” means that the person “(A) Has actual knowledge of the information.”
Los Angeles Mem'l Coliseum Comm'n v. Insomniac, Inc., 233 Cal. App. 4th 803 (Cal. Ct. App. 2015). · cites it 3× “” (Gov. Code, § 12650, subd. (b)(8).) 15 Moreover, plaintiffs stipulated that the action was not brought by a “person” as a qui tarn action.”
State v. Altus Fin., S.A., 116 P.3d 1175 (Cal. 2005). · cites it 2× “) (1) Can the Attorney General pursue civil remedies, under the California False Claims Act (CFCA) (Gov. Code, § 12650 et seq.) and the unfair competition law (UCL) (Bus.”
in Re Xerox Corp. & Xerox State Healthcare, LLC F/K/A Acs State Healthcare, Llc, 555 S.W.3d 518 (Tex. 2018). “§§ 20-77-901 to -911; Cal. Gov't Code §§ 12650 -56; Colo. Rev. Stat .”
Premier Med. Mgmt. Sys., Inc. v. California Ins. Guarantee Ass'n, 163 Cal. App. 4th 550 (Cal. Ct. App. 2008). “They demonstrate that counsel for CIGA were researching issues such as the False Claims Act (Gov. Code, § 12650 et seq.); insurance statutes; the McCarran-Ferguson Act ( 15 U.”
Armenta Ex Rel. City of Burbank v. Mueller Co., 47 Cal. Rptr. 3d 832 (Cal. Ct. App. 2006). · cites it 3× “Armenta challenges the propriety of revoking the court's grant of leave to file her second amended complaint, arguing that the trial court abused its discretion in imposing and enforcing an unfair condition upon Armenta's ab lity to file her second amended complaint, which…”
Dillingham-Ray Wilson v. City of Los Angeles, 182 Cal. App. 4th 1396 (Cal. Ct. App. 2010). · cites it 2× “Also, the City argues that the trial court erred when it granted prompt pay penalties and attorney fees pursuant to section 7107, subdivision (f), and attorney fees pursuant to California’s False Claims Act (Gov. Code, § 12650 et seq.). In the unpublished portion of this…”
Taylor v. Nabors Drilling USA, LP, 222 Cal. App. 4th 1228 (Cal. Ct. App. 2014). “3d 175 ] [by not objecting, cross-defendant waived argument that special verdict form was defective for failing to require a finding on the materiality element of cause of action for filing a false claim with city under California’s False Claims Act (Gov. Code, § 12650 et…”
— Cal. Government Code § 12650(a)(1)(A) — 1 case
— Cal. Government Code § 12650(a)(l) — 1 case
United States ex rel. Fryberger v. Kiewit Pac. Co., 41 F. Supp. 3d 796 (N.D. Cal. 2014).
— Cal. Government Code § 12650(b)(1) — 1 case
State v. Altus Fin., S.A., 116 P.3d 1175 (Cal. 2005). “) (1) Can the Attorney General pursue civil remedies, under the California False Claims Act (CFCA) (Gov. Code, § 12650 et seq.) and the unfair competition law (UCL) (Bus.”
— Cal. Government Code § 12650(b)(3) — 1 case
United States v. Sequel Contractors, Inc., 402 F. Supp. 2d 1142 (C.D. Cal. 2005).
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.