South Dakota § 58-4A-2 - Fraudulent insurance acts--Certain violations as misdemeanor--Certain violations as felony.

§ 58-4A-2. Fraudulent insurance acts--Certain violations as misdemeanor--Certain violations as felony.

For purposes of this chapter, a person commits a fraudulent insurance act if the person:

(1)    Knowingly and with intent to defraud or deceive issues or possesses fake or counterfeit insurance policies, certificates of insurance, insurance identification cards, or insurance binders;

(2)    Is engaged in the business of insurance, whether authorized or unauthorized, receives money for the purpose of purchasing insurance and converts the money to the person's own benefit or for a purpose not intended or authorized by an insured or prospective insured;

(3)    Willfully embezzles, abstracts, steals, misappropriates, or converts money, funds, premiums, credits, or other property of an insurer or person engaged in the business of insurance or of an insured or prospective insured;

(4)    Knowingly and with intent to defraud or deceive makes any false entry of a material fact in or pertaining to any document or statement filed with or required by the Division of Insurance;

(5)    Knowingly and with intent to defraud or deceive removes, conceals, alters, diverts, or destroys assets or records of an insurer or other person engaged in the business of insurance or attempts to remove, conceal, alter, divert, or destroy assets or records of an insurer or other person engaged in the business of insurance;

(6)    Knowingly and with intent to defraud or deceive presents, causes to be presented, or prepares with knowledge or belief that it will be presented to or by an insurer, or any insurance producer of an insurer, any statement as part of a claim, in support of a claim, or in denial of a claim for payment or other benefit pursuant to an insurance policy knowing that the statement contains any false, incomplete, or misleading information concerning any fact or thing material to a claim;

(7)    Assists, abets, solicits, or conspires with another to prepare or make any statement that is intended to be presented to or by an insurer or person in connection with or in support of any claim for payment or other benefit, or denial, pursuant to an insurance policy knowing that the statement contains any false, incomplete, or misleading information concerning any fact or thing material to the claim; or

(8)    Makes any false or fraudulent representations as to the death or disability of a policy or certificate holder in any statement or certificate for the purpose of fraudulently obtaining money or benefit from an insurer.

Any violation of this section for an amount of four hundred dollars or less is a Class 2 misdemeanor. Any violation of this section for an amount in excess of four hundred dollars and less than one thousand dollars is a Class 1 misdemeanor. Any violation of this section for an amount of one thousand dollars and greater is a Class 4 felony. Any other violation of this section is a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Source: SL 1999, ch 241, § 2; SL 2001, ch 286, § 67; SL 2006, ch 130, § 20.