Section 2000 | CALCRIM (Jury Instructions)

Code, § 550(c)(2).) If the defendant is charged with a felony, then the misdemeanor
offense is a lesser included offense. The court must provide the jury with a verdict
form on which the jury will indicate if the total amount of the claims exceeds $950.
If the jury finds that the amount does not exceed $950, then the offense should be
set at a misdemeanor.
RELATED ISSUES
Writing to Be Used for Fraudulent Claim
Penal Code section 550(a)(5) makes it a felony to “[k]nowingly prepare, make, or
subscribe any writing, with the intent to present or use it, or to allow it to be
presented, in support of any false or fraudulent claim.” “Under this section, the
writing required need not be false or fraudulent as long as it is intended to be
presented or used in support of any false or fraudulent claim.” (People v. Zelver
(1955) 135 Cal.App.2d 226, 235 [287 P.2d 183].) In addition, “[i]t need not be
shown that defendant himself executed the false instrument if there is proof that he
procured its execution or aided and abetted another in doing so.” (People v. Singh
(1995) 37 Cal.App.4th 1343, 1376 [44 Cal.Rptr.2d 644].)
Liability of Care Provider
A doctor or other care provider who prepares false documents for a fraudulent
insurance claim may be prosecuted under Penal Code section 550(a)(1) for “causing
the presentation of a fraudulent claim,” even though another person actually presents
the claim. (People v. Singh (1995) 37 Cal.App.4th 1343, 1369–1370 [44 Cal.Rptr.2d
644].) Alternatively, the care provider may be prosecuted under Penal Code section
550(a)(5), discussed above. (Ibid.)
SECONDARY SOURCES
2 Witkin & Epstein, California Criminal Law (4th ed. 2012) Crimes Against
Property, §§ 222, 224.
6 Millman, Sevilla & Tarlow, California Criminal Defense Practice, Ch. 143, Crimes
Against Property, § 143.01[1][f] (Matthew Bender).
CALCRIM No. 2000
CRIMINAL WRITINGS AND FRAUD
88

If causation is at issue, the court has a sua sponte duty to instruct on proximate
cause. (People v. Bernhardt (1963) 222 Cal.App.2d 567, 590–591 [35 Cal.Rptr.
401].) If the evidence indicates that there was only one cause of the accident, the
court should give the “direct, natural, and probable” language in the first bracketed
paragraph on causation. If there is evidence of multiple causes of the accident, the
court should also give the “substantial factor” instruction in the second bracketed
paragraph on causation. (See People v. Autry (1995) 37 Cal.App.4th 351, 363 [43
Cal.Rptr.2d 135]; People v. Pike (1988) 197 Cal.App.3d 732, 746–747 [243
Cal.Rptr. 54].)
Give the bracketed sentence that begins with “For the purpose of this instruction” if
the evidence shows an intent to defraud an entity or association rather than a natural
person. (Pen. Code, § 8.)
Give the bracketed sentence that begins with “It is not necessary” if the evidence
shows that the defendant did not succeed in defrauding anyone.
Related Instructions
CALCRIM No. 2000, Insurance Fraud: Fraudulent Claims.
CALCRIM No. 2001,