Cal. Codes » Government Code / TITLE 2. GOVERNMENT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA / DIVISION 3. EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT / PART 2. CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICERS / CHAPTER 6. Attorney General / ARTICLE 9. False Claims Actions
California Codes

Cal. Government Code § 12651 (2026)

False Claims Actions

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(a)Any person who commits any of the following enumerated acts in this subdivision shall have violated this article and shall be liable to the state or to the political subdivision for three times the amount of damages that the state or political subdivision sustains because of the act of that person. A person who commits any of the following enumerated acts shall also be liable to the state or to the political subdivision for the costs of a civil action brought to recover any of those penalties or damages, and shall be liable to the state or political subdivision for a civil penalty of not less than five thousand five hundred dollars ($5,500) and not more than eleven thousand dollars ($11,000) for each violation, as adjusted by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, Public Law 101–410 Section 5, 104 Stat. 891, note following 28 U.S.C. Section 2461.

(1)Knowingly presents or causes to be presented a false or fraudulent claim for payment or approval.

(2)Knowingly makes, uses, or causes to be made or used a false record or statement material to a false or fraudulent claim.

(3)Conspires to commit a violation of this subdivision.

(4)Has possession, custody, or control of public property or money used or to be used by the state or by any political subdivision and knowingly delivers or causes to be delivered less than all of that property.

(5)Is authorized to make or deliver a document certifying receipt of property used or to be used by the state or by any political subdivision and knowingly makes or delivers a receipt that falsely represents the property used or to be used.

(6)Knowingly buys, or receives as a pledge of an obligation or debt, public property from any person who lawfully may not sell or pledge the property.

(7)Knowingly makes, uses, or causes to be made or used a false record or statement material to an obligation to pay or transmit money or property to the state or to any political subdivision, or knowingly conceals or knowingly and improperly avoids, or decreases an obligation to pay or transmit money or property to the state or to any political subdivision.

(8)Is a beneficiary of an inadvertent submission of a false claim, subsequently discovers the falsity of the claim, and fails to disclose the false claim to the state or the political subdivision within a reasonable time after discovery of the false claim.

(b)Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the court may assess not less than two times and not more than three times the amount of damages which the state or the political subdivision sustains because of the act of the person described in that subdivision, and no civil penalty, if the court finds all of the following:

(1)The person committing the violation furnished officials of the state or of the political subdivision responsible for investigating false claims violations with all information known to that person about the violation within 30 days after the date on which the person first obtained the information.

(2)The person fully cooperated with any investigation by the state or a political subdivision of the violation.

(3)At the time the person furnished the state or the political subdivision with information about the violation, no criminal prosecution, civil action, or administrative action had commenced with respect to the violation, and the person did not have actual knowledge of the existence of an investigation into the violation.

(c) Liability under this section shall be joint and several for any act committed by two or more persons.

(d)This section does not apply to any controversy involving an amount of less than five hundred dollars ($500) in value. For purposes of this subdivision, “controversy” means any one or more false claims submitted by the same person in violation of this article.

(e)This section does not apply to claims, records, or statements made pursuant to Division 3.6 (commencing with Section 810) of Title 1 or to workers’ compensation claims filed pursuant to Division 4 (commencing with Section 3200) of the Labor Code.

(f)This section does not apply to claims, records, or statements made under the Revenue and Taxation Code.

(g)This section does not apply to claims, records, or statements for the assets of a person that have been transferred to the Commissioner of Insurance, pursuant to Section 1011 of the Insurance Code.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 61 cases (16 in the last 5 years), 1995–2024 · leading case: Wells v. One2One Learning Found., 141 P.3d 225 (Cal. 2006).
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Wells v. One2One Learning Found., 141 P.3d 225 (Cal. 2006). · cites it 10× “(Gov.Code, § 12651, subd. (a)(1)-(3), (8).”
Fassberg Constr. Co. v. Hous. Auth., 152 Cal. App. 4th 720 (Cal. Ct. App. 2007). · cites it 8× “The court imposed a civil penalty of $500 per false claim (Gov. Code, § 12651, subd. (a)), totaling $1,491,500, and trebled the award of damages for false claims (ibid.”
Thompson Pac. Constr. Inc. v. City of Sunnyvale, 155 Cal. App. 4th 525 (Cal. Ct. App. 2007). · cites it 4× “) (FPA) 1 and California’s False Claims Act (Gov. Code, § 12651) (CFCA). Thompson appeals.”
State ex rel. Stand. Elevator Co. v. West Bay Builders, Inc., 197 Cal. App. 4th 963 (Cal. Ct. App. 2011). · cites it 7× “(Gov. Code, § 12651, subd. (a)(1), (2), (8).”
Los Angeles Mem'l Coliseum Comm'n v. Insomniac, Inc., 233 Cal. App. 4th 803 (Cal. Ct. App. 2015). · cites it 3× “Analysis Plaintiffs contend that the trial court misconstrued Government Code section 12652. According to plaintiffs, Government Code section 12651, subdivision (a) 13 expresses a clear legislative intent “to have ‘persons’ held *821 liable to the state or political subdivision…”
State ex rel. Bowen v. Bank of Am. Corp., 126 Cal. App. 4th 225 (Cal. Ct. App. 2005). · cites it 4× “BACKGROUND This case involves three distinct statutory schemes: (1) Civil Code section 2941, subdivision (j), which requires lenders to refund reconveyance fees under certain circumstances; 1 (2) the UPL, which requires banks and other *231 financial institutions to report and…”
People v. Duz-Mor Diagnostic Lab'y, Inc., 68 Cal. App. 4th 654 (Cal. Ct. App. 1998). · cites it 4× “Appellant also alleged that the use of unbundled billing violated the False Claims Act, Government Code section 12651. The trial court found that none of the practices were unfair and that none violated any law, and thus that appellant had not proved a violation of the Act or…”
Mcveigh v. Recology San Francisco, 213 Cal. App. 4th 443 (Cal. Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 2× “” (Gov. Code § 12651, subds. (a)(1) & (2).) Likewise, the FFCA is violated when a person “ ‘knowingly presents, or caused to be presented, to an officer or employee of the United States Government, or a member of the Armed Forces of the United States a false or fraudulent claim…”
State ex rel. McCann v. Bank of Am., N.A., 191 Cal. App. 4th 897 (Cal. Ct. App. 2011). · cites it 3× “) False claims include “knowingly presenting] or causing] to be presented a false or fraudulent claim for payment or approval” (Gov. Code, § 12651, subd. (a)(1)), but also include “knowingly and improperly avoiding], or decreasing] an obligation to pay or transmit money or…”
State ex rel. Harris v. Pricewaterhousecoopers, LLP, 141 P.3d 256 (Cal. 2006). · cites it 2× “(Gov. Code, § 12651, subd. (a).) In the trial court, City’s action was consolidated for all purposes with several class actions against Old Republic alleging wrongful customer practices similar to those set forth in City’s complaint.”
United States v. Sequel Contractors, Inc., 402 F. Supp. 2d 1142 (C.D. Cal. 2005). · cites it 3× “Cal. Gov.Code § 12651. This Act mirrors the federal False Claims Act, imposing liability for presentation of false claims to the state government.”
State v. Altus Fin., S.A., 116 P.3d 1175 (Cal. 2005). “” (Gov. Code, § 12651, subd. (a)(1).) The CFCA defines a “claim” as “any request or demand for money, property, or services made to any employee, officer, or agent of the state or of any political subdivision, or to any contractor, grantee, or other recipient, whether under…”
Show all 61 citing cases →
Cal. Government Code § 12651(a): 1 case
Peter Turner v. City & Cnty. of San Francisco, 617 F. App'x 674 (9th Cir. 2015).
Cal. Government Code § 12651(a)(1): 3 cases
U.S. & State v. Somnia, Inc., 339 F. Supp. 3d 947 (E.D. Cal. 2018).
United States v. Sequel Contractors, Inc., 402 F. Supp. 2d 1142 (C.D. Cal. 2005). “Cal. Gov.Code § 12651. This Act mirrors the federal False Claims Act, imposing liability for presentation of false claims to the state government.”
United States v. Crescendo Bioscience, Inc., No. 3:16-cv-02043 (N.D. Cal. May 23, 2020).
Cal. Government Code § 12651(a)(8): 1 case
Schmuckley v. Rite Aid Corp., No. 2:12-cv-01699 (E.D. Cal. Apr. 7, 2021).
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