Colorado Revised Statutes

Colo. Rev. Stat. § 8-43-402 (2026)

False statement - felony

✓ current as of July 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section CO-LEGleg.colorado.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

If, for the purpose of obtaining an order, benefit, award, compensation, or payment pursuant to the provisions of articles 40 to 47 of this title 8, either for self-gain or for the benefit of any other person, anyone willfully makes a false statement or representation material to the claim, such person commits a class 6 felony and shall be punished as provided in section 18-1.3-401 and forfeits all right to compensation under said articles upon conviction of the offense.

Source: L. 90: Entire article R&RE, p. 513, § 1, effective July 1. L. 2002: Entire section amended, p. 1467, § 20, effective October 1. L. 2023: Entire section amended, (HB 23-1293), ch. 298, p. 1782, § 1, effective October 1.

Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 8-53-129 as it existed prior to 1990.

Cross references: For the legislative declaration contained in the 2002 act amending this section, see section 1 of chapter 318, Session Laws of Colorado 2002.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 7 cases, 1997–2008 · leading case: Wolford v. Pinnacol Assurance, 107 P.3d 947 (Colo. 2005).
Wolford v. Pinnacol Assurance, 107 P.3d 947 (Colo. 2005). · cites it 100× “The district court found, and the court of appeals agreed, that as a matter of law Wolford forfeited her right to recover PPD benefits because she was convicted under section 8-43-402, C.R.S. (2004), of making false statements to obtain temporary total disability (TTD) benefits.”
Vaughan v. McMinn, 945 P.2d 404 (Colo. 1997). · cites it 8× “We note that both our court of appeals and the Industrial Claim Appeals Office have held that where the insurer fails to pay medical bills, the specific penalty provisions in section 8-43-402(2)(a) supersede the general penalty provisions of section 8-43-304(1) and the claimant…”
Support, Inc. v. Indus. Claim Appeals Off. of the Colorado, 968 P.2d 174 (Colo. Ct. App. 1998). · cites it 7× “Wolford (claimant) had not forfeited her right to ongoing medical benefits under § 8-43-402, C.R.S.1998, because of a certain felony conviction.”
People v. Witek, 97 P.3d 240 (Colo. Ct. App. 2004). · cites it 8× “False Statement or Representation Defendant argues that the statute concerning false statements and representations, § 8-43-402, C.R.S.2003, applies only to an individual who “files a claim” seeking workers’ compensation benefits.”
Obregon v. Indus. Comm'n of Arizona, 177 P.3d 873 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2008). “1994) (without using “such,” “any,” or “all,” the statute provides that the employee “shall not be entitled to compensation or benefits under this chapter”); La.”
Wolford v. Pinnacol Assurance, 81 P.3d 1079 (Colo. Ct. App. 2004). · cites it 3× “2002(Act), a felony in violation of § 8-43-402, C.R.S.2002 (forfeiture statute).”
Sigala v. Atencio's Mkt., 184 P.3d 40 (Colo. 2008). · cites it 2× “" § 8-43-402, C.R.S. (2007) (emphasis added).”
— Colo. Rev. Stat. § 8-43-402(2)(a) — 1 case
Vaughan v. McMinn, 945 P.2d 404 (Colo. 1997). “We note that both our court of appeals and the Industrial Claim Appeals Office have held that where the insurer fails to pay medical bills, the specific penalty provisions in section 8-43-402(2)(a) supersede the general penalty provisions of section 8-43-304(1) and the claimant…”
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.