Establishes the crime of unlawful procurement of clients, patients or customers for knowingly acting as a runner, or using, soliciting, directing, hiring or employing another person to act as a runner; a "runner" is defined as a person, who knowingly, for profit, seeks to procure clients, patients or customers on behalf of an attorney or health care provider for the purpose of falsely or fraudulently obtaining benefits under a contract of insurance or asserting a claim against an insurer or insured for the services provided by such attorney or health care provider.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
799
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 9, 2013
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WEPRIN -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. GOODELL,
MALLIOTAKIS -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to establishing the crime of
unlawful procurement of clients, patients or customers
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 176.00 of the penal law is amended by adding three
2 new subdivisions 6, 7 and 8 to read as follows:
3 6. "Provider" means a health care professional, an owner or operator
4 of a health care practice or facility or an attorney.
5 7. "Public media" means any of the following means of communication,
6 provided that the use of such communication does not involve in-person
7 contact with a specific prospective client, patient or customer for the
8 purpose of retention, treatment or representation in a particular
9 matter: telephone directories, professional directories, newspapers and
10 other periodicals, radio and television, billboards, brochures, business
11 cards, newsletters, announcements, promotional items branding materials,
12 advertisements, websites and mailed or electronically transmitted writ-
13 ten communications, advertisements and brandings.
14 8. "Runner" means a person, not a provider, who with the intent to
15 obtain a material pecuniary benefit, procures or attempts to procure a
16 client, patient or customer at the direction of, request of, in cooper-
17 ation with, while employed by, or with intent to solicit a fee from, a
18 provider or from any person who creates the impression that he or she or
19 his or her practice can provide legal or health care services. Such term
20 shall not include a person who procures or attempts to procure clients,
21 patients or customers for a provider through public media or who refers
22 clients, patients or customers as authorized or permitted by law or in
23 accordance with existing professional codes of conduct governing the
24 professional practice of a provider. Nothing in this article shall be
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03889-01-3
A. 799 2
1 deemed to prohibit an agent, broker or employee of a health maintenance
2 organization from seeking to sell health maintenance organization cover-
3 age or health insurance coverage to an individual or group.
4 § 2. The penal law is amended by adding three new sections 176.75,
5 176.80 and 176.85 to read as follows:
6 § 176.75 Unlawful procurement of clients, patients or customers in the
7 third degree.
8 A person is guilty of unlawful procurement of clients, patients or
9 customers in the third degree when he or she knowingly:
10 1. Acts as a runner on more than one occasion during any twelve-month
11 period; or
12 2. As a provider, in violation of law or existing professional codes
13 of conduct governing the professional practice of the provider, uses,
14 solicits, directs, hires or employs another person to act as a runner on
15 more than one occasion over any twelve-month period and provides a mate-
16 rial pecuniary benefit.
17 Unlawful procurement of clients, patients or customers in the third
18 degree is a class A misdemeanor.
19 § 176.80 Unlawful procurement of clients, patients or customers in the
20 second degree.
21 1. A person is guilty of unlawful procurement of clients, patients or
22 customers in the second degree when he or she knowingly acts as a runner
23 on five or more occasions over any twelve-month period, or for a pecuni-
24 ary benefit that in the aggregate exceeds five thousand dollars in
25 value; or
26 2. As a provider, in violation of law or existing professional codes
27 of conduct governing the professional practice of the provider, knowing-
28 ly uses, solicits, directs, hires or employs one or more persons to act
29 as a runner on five or more occasions over any twelve-month period, or
30 provides a pecuniary benefit to the runner that in the aggregate exceeds
31 five thousand dollars in value.
32 Unlawful procurement of clients, patients or customers in the second
33 degree is a class E felony.
34 § 176.85 Unlawful procurement of clients, patients or customers in the
35 first degree.
36 1. A person is guilty of unlawful procurement of clients, patients or
37 customers in the first degree when he or she knowingly acts as a runner
38 on ten or more occasions over any twelve-month period, or for a pecuni-
39 ary benefit that in the aggregate exceeds twenty thousand dollars in
40 value; or
41 2. As a provider, in violation of law or existing professional codes
42 of conduct governing the professional practice of the provider, knowing-
43 ly uses, solicits, directs, hires or employs one or more persons to act
44 as a runner on ten or more occasions over any twelve-month period, or
45 provides a pecuniary benefit to the runner that in the aggregate exceeds
46 twenty thousand dollars in value.
47 Unlawful procurement of clients, patients or customers in the first
48 degree is a class D felony.
49 § 3. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 460.10 of the penal
50 law, as amended by chapter 405 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read
51 as follows:
52 (a) Any of the felonies set forth in this chapter: sections 120.05,
53 120.10 and 120.11 relating to assault; sections 121.12 and 121.13 relat-
54 ing to strangulation; sections 125.10 to 125.27 relating to homicide;
55 sections 130.25, 130.30 and 130.35 relating to rape; sections 135.20 and
56 135.25 relating to kidnapping; section 135.35 relating to labor traf-
A. 799 3
1 ficking; section 135.65 relating to coercion; sections 140.20, 140.25
2 and 140.30 relating to burglary; sections 145.05, 145.10 and 145.12
3 relating to criminal mischief; article one hundred fifty relating to
4 arson; sections 155.30, 155.35, 155.40 and 155.42 relating to grand
5 larceny; sections 177.10, 177.15, 177.20 and 177.25 relating to health
6 care fraud; article one hundred sixty relating to robbery; sections
7 165.45, 165.50, 165.52 and 165.54 relating to criminal possession of
8 stolen property; sections 165.72 and 165.73 relating to trademark coun-
9 terfeiting; sections 170.10, 170.15, 170.25, 170.30, 170.40, 170.65 and
10 170.70 relating to forgery; sections 175.10, 175.25, 175.35, 175.40 and
11 210.40 relating to false statements; sections 176.15, 176.20, 176.25 and
12 176.30 relating to insurance fraud; sections 176.80 and 176.85 relating
13 to unlawful procurement of clients, patients or customers; sections
14 178.20 and 178.25 relating to criminal diversion of prescription medica-
15 tions and prescriptions; sections 180.03, 180.08, 180.15, 180.25,
16 180.40, 180.45, 200.00, 200.03, 200.04, 200.10, 200.11, 200.12, 200.20,
17 200.22, 200.25, 200.27, 215.00, 215.05 and 215.19 relating to bribery;
18 sections 187.10, 187.15, 187.20 and 187.25 relating to residential mort-
19 gage fraud, sections 190.40 and 190.42 relating to criminal usury;
20 section 190.65 relating to schemes to defraud; sections 205.60 and
21 205.65 relating to hindering prosecution; sections 210.10, 210.15, and
22 215.51 relating to perjury and contempt; section 215.40 relating to
23 tampering with physical evidence; sections 220.06, 220.09, 220.16,
24 220.18, 220.21, 220.31, 220.34, 220.39, 220.41, 220.43, 220.46, 220.55,
25 220.60 and 220.77 relating to controlled substances; sections 225.10 and
26 225.20 relating to gambling; sections 230.25, 230.30, and 230.32 relat-
27 ing to promoting prostitution; section 230.34 relating to sex traffick-
28 ing; sections 235.06, 235.07, 235.21 and 235.22 relating to obscenity;
29 sections 263.10 and 263.15 relating to promoting a sexual performance by
30 a child; sections 265.02, 265.03, 265.04, 265.11, 265.12, 265.13 and the
31 provisions of section 265.10 which constitute a felony relating to
32 firearms and other dangerous weapons; and sections 265.14 and 265.16
33 relating to criminal sale of a firearm; and section 275.10, 275.20,
34 275.30, or 275.40 relating to unauthorized recordings; and sections
35 470.05, 470.10, 470.15 and 470.20 relating to money laundering; or
36 § 4. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
37 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
