N.Y. State Finance Law § 189: Liability for certain acts

§ 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.