New York Consolidated Laws

N.Y. State Finance Law § 189 (2026)

Liability for certain acts

✓ current as of May 2026

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§ 189. Liability for certain acts. 1. Subject to the provisions of
subdivision two of this section, any person who:
  (a) knowingly presents, or causes to be presented a false or
fraudulent claim for payment or approval;
  (b) knowingly makes, uses, or causes to be made or used, a false
record or statement material to a false or fraudulent claim;
  (c) conspires to commit a violation of paragraph (a), (b), (d), (e),
(f) or (g) of this subdivision;
  (d) has possession, custody, or control of property or money used, or
to be used, by the state or a local government and knowingly delivers,
or causes to be delivered, less than all of that money or property;
  (e) is authorized to make or deliver a document certifying receipt of
property used, or to be used, by the state or a local government and,
intending to defraud the state or a local government, makes or delivers
the receipt without completely knowing that the information on the
receipt is true;
  (f) knowingly buys, or receives as a pledge of an obligation or debt,
public property from an officer or employee of the state or a local
government knowing that the officer or employee violates a provision of
law when selling or pledging such property;
  (g) 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 a local government; or
  (h) knowingly conceals or knowingly and improperly avoids or decreases
an obligation to pay or transmit money or property to the state or a
local government, or conspires to do the same; shall be liable to the
state or a local government, as applicable, for a civil penalty of not
less than six thousand dollars and not more than twelve thousand
dollars, as adjusted to be equal to the civil penalty allowed under the
federal False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. sec. 3729, et seq., as amended, as
adjusted for inflation by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation
Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended (28 U.S.C. 2461 note; Pub. L. No.
101-410), plus three times the amount of all damages, including
consequential damages, which the state or local government sustains
because of the act of that person.
  2. The court may assess not more than two times the amount of damages
sustained because of the act of the person described in subdivision one
of this section, if the court finds that:
  (a) the person committing the violation of this section had furnished
all information known to such person about the violation, to those
officials responsible for investigating false claims violations on
behalf of the state and any local government that sustained damages,
within thirty days after the date on which such person first obtained
the information;
  (b) such person fully cooperated with any government investigation of
such violation; and
  (c) at the time such person furnished information about the violation,
no criminal prosecution, civil action, or administrative action had
commenced with respect to such violation, and the person did not have
actual knowledge of the existence of an investigation into such
violation.
  3. A person who violates this section shall also be liable for the
costs, including attorneys' fees, of a civil action brought to recover
any such penalty or damages.
  4. (a) This section shall apply to tax law violations only if: (i) the
net income or sales of the person against whom the action is brought
equals or exceeds one million dollars for any taxable year subject to
any action brought pursuant to this article; and (ii) the damages
pleaded in such action exceed three hundred and fifty thousand dollars;
provided that for purposes of applying paragraph (h) of subdivision one
of this section to a tax law violation, the person is alleged to have
knowingly concealed or knowingly and improperly avoided an obligation to
pay taxes to the state or a local government.
  (b) The attorney general shall consult with the commissioner of the
department of taxation and finance prior to filing or intervening in any
action under this article that is based on a violation of the tax law.
If the state declines to participate or to authorize participation by a
local government in such an action pursuant to subdivision two of
section one hundred ninety of this article, the qui tam plaintiff must
obtain approval from the attorney general before making any motion to
compel the department of taxation and finance to disclose tax records.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 27 cases (12 in the last 5 years), 2009–2026 · leading case: People v. Sprint Nextel Corp., 42 N.E.3d 655 (NY 2015).

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People v. Sprint Nextel Corp., 42 N.E.3d 655 (NY 2015). · cites it 2× “But, in 2010, the legislature amended it to cover “claims, records, or statements made under the tax law” in certain circumstances (L 2010, ch 379, § 3, codified at State Finance Law § 189 [4] [a]). The amendment was designed to “provide an additional enforcement tool against…”

State ex rel. Grupp v. DHL Express (USA), Inc., 970 N.E.2d 391 (NY 2012). · cites it 4× “Plaintiffs, as relators, commenced an action on behalf of the State pursuant to the FCA, alleging violations of State Finance Law § 189 (1) (a), (b) and (c) 2 and seeking treble damages, penalties and costs.”

Williams v. Philips Med. Sys. (Cleveland), Inc., 2017 NY Slip Op 5540 (N.Y. App. Div. 2017). · cites it 6× “…the purported sales of medical equipment to two hospitals. Plaintiff asserted causes of action under the FCA ( see State Finance Law §§ 189 [1] [a], [b], [g]; 191) and the Martin Act (General Business Law §§ 339-b, 352, 352-c, 353), and for repeated fraud and illegality in…”

People v. Sprint Nextel Corp., 41 Misc. 3d 511 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 2013). · cites it 9× “Background This case arises out of a qui tarn action pursuant to the New York False Claims Act, State Finance Law § 189. Empire State *514 Ventures, LLC initially commenced the action, pursuant to State Finance Law § 189, essentially alleging that Sprint, mobile…”

Hogan v. Cuomo, 67 A.D.3d 1144 (N.Y. App. Div. 2009). “Petitioner contends that the False Claims Act is inapplicable because it was enacted after petitioner began receiving pension benefits, it may not be applied retroactively and the statute of limitations has run (see State Finance Law § 192).”

State of N.Y. ex rel. Edelweiss Fund, LLC v. JPMorgan Chase & Co., 2025 NY Slip Op 50457(U) (N.Y. Sup. Ct., New York Cty. 2025). · cites it 11× “]) without provision for damages ( see State Finance Law § 189 [1-3]). Although the damages prescribed by statute include consequential damages, they do not provide for restitution or recessionary damages.”

State v. DHL Express (USA), Inc., 28 Misc. 3d 973 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 2010). · cites it 4× “Under that statute, a person who knowingly submits a false or fraudulent claim for payment to the State may be held liable for fines, treble damages, and attorneys’ fees (State Finance Law § 189 [1], [3]). Actions may be brought by the State Attorney General or by…”

State of N.Y. ex rel. Willcox v. Credit Suisse Sec. (USA) LLC, 140 A.D.3d 622 (N.Y. App. Div. 2016). · cites it 2× “Relator fails to state a claim for violation of State Finance Law § 189 (1) (g). 1 His theory — that if defendants’ alleged underreporting of their income in 1999 created a deficiency that carried over into subsequent years, their New York state corporate franchise tax returns…”

Total Asset Recovery Servs. LLC v. Metlife, Inc., 2020 NY Slip Op 07480 (N.Y. App. Div. 2020). · cites it 3× “ngly, plaintiff asserts a single cause of action, pursuant to the New York False Claims Act (NYFCA), alleging that, from on or about April 1, 1986 and continuing through on or about September 10, 2017, defendants knowingly made, used, or caused to be made or used a false record…”

State of N.Y. ex rel Light v. Melamed, 2020 NY Slip Op 1718 (N.Y. App. Div. 2020). “Assuming, without deciding, that NYFCA applies to causes of action alleging that misrepresentations were made to avoid estate tax obligations ( see State Finance Law § 189[1][g]), the estate tax fraud causes of action were correctly dismissed.”

Show all 27 citing cases →

— N.Y. State Finance Law § 189(1)(g) — 3 cases

State of N.Y. ex rel. Phone Admin. Servs., Inc. v. Verizon N.Y., Inc., 2026 NY Slip Op 02163 (N.Y. App. Div. 2026).

State of New York, City of New York, ex rel. Campagna v. Post Integrations, Inc., 2018 NY Slip Op 4827 (N.Y. App. Div. 2018).

State of N.Y. ex rel. Grabcheski v. Am. Intl. Grp., Inc., 2022 NY Slip Op 02102 (N.Y. App. Div. 2022).

— N.Y. State Finance Law § 189(1)(h) — 1 case

State of N.Y. ex rel. Phone Admin. Servs., Inc. v. Verizon N.Y., Inc., 2026 NY Slip Op 02163 (N.Y. App. Div. 2026).

— N.Y. State Finance Law § 189(4)(a) — 1 case

State of N.Y. ex rel. Phone Admin. Servs., Inc. v. Verizon N.Y., Inc., 2026 NY Slip Op 02163 (N.Y. App. Div. 2026).

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