Bill Text: NY A00855 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: 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; defines a "runner" 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.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to codes [A00855 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A00855-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 855 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 11, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. WEPRIN -- 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 25 deemed to prohibit an agent, broker or employee of a health maintenance EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD01531-01-3A. 855 2 1 organization from seeking to sell health maintenance organization cover- 2 age or health insurance coverage to an individual or group. 3 § 2. The penal law is amended by adding three new sections 176.85, 4 176.90 and 176.95 to read as follows: 5 § 176.85 Unlawful procurement of clients, patients or customers in the 6 third degree. 7 A person is guilty of unlawful procurement of clients, patients or 8 customers in the third degree when he or she knowingly: 9 1. Acts as a runner on more than one occasion during any twelve-month 10 period; or 11 2. As a provider, in violation of law or existing professional codes 12 of conduct governing the professional practice of the provider, uses, 13 solicits, directs, hires or employs another person to act as a runner on 14 more than one occasion over any twelve-month period and provides a mate- 15 rial pecuniary benefit. 16 Unlawful procurement of clients, patients or customers in the third 17 degree is a class A misdemeanor. 18 § 176.90 Unlawful procurement of clients, patients or customers in the 19 second degree. 20 1. A person is guilty of unlawful procurement of clients, patients or 21 customers in the second degree when he or she knowingly acts as a runner 22 on five or more occasions over any twelve-month period, or for a pecuni- 23 ary benefit that in the aggregate exceeds five thousand dollars in 24 value; or 25 2. As a provider, in violation of law or existing professional codes 26 of conduct governing the professional practice of the provider, knowing- 27 ly uses, solicits, directs, hires or employs one or more persons to act 28 as a runner on five or more occasions over any twelve-month period, or 29 provides a pecuniary benefit to the runner that in the aggregate exceeds 30 five thousand dollars in value. 31 Unlawful procurement of clients, patients or customers in the second 32 degree is a class E felony. 33 § 176.95 Unlawful procurement of clients, patients or customers in the 34 first degree. 35 1. A person is guilty of unlawful procurement of clients, patients or 36 customers in the first degree when he or she knowingly acts as a runner 37 on ten or more occasions over any twelve-month period, or for a pecuni- 38 ary benefit that in the aggregate exceeds twenty thousand dollars in 39 value; or 40 2. As a provider, in violation of law or existing professional codes 41 of conduct governing the professional practice of the provider, knowing- 42 ly uses, solicits, directs, hires or employs one or more persons to act 43 as a runner on ten or more occasions over any twelve-month period, or 44 provides a pecuniary benefit to the runner that in the aggregate exceeds 45 twenty thousand dollars in value. 46 Unlawful procurement of clients, patients or customers in the first 47 degree is a class D felony. 48 § 3. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 460.10 of the penal 49 law, as amended by chapter 134 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read 50 as follows: 51 (a) Any of the felonies set forth in this chapter: sections 120.05, 52 120.10 and 120.11 relating to assault; sections 121.12 and 121.13 relat- 53 ing to strangulation; sections 125.10 to 125.27 relating to homicide; 54 sections 130.25, 130.30 and 130.35 relating to rape; sections 135.20 and 55 135.25 relating to kidnapping; sections 135.35 and 135.37 relating to 56 labor trafficking; section 135.65 relating to coercion; sections 140.20,A. 855 3 1 140.25 and 140.30 relating to burglary; sections 145.05, 145.10 and 2 145.12 relating to criminal mischief; article one hundred fifty relating 3 to arson; sections 155.30, 155.35, 155.40 and 155.42 relating to grand 4 larceny; sections 177.10, 177.15, 177.20 and 177.25 relating to health 5 care fraud; article one hundred sixty relating to robbery; sections 6 165.45, 165.50, 165.52 and 165.54 relating to criminal possession of 7 stolen property; sections 165.72 and 165.73 relating to trademark coun- 8 terfeiting; sections 170.10, 170.15, 170.25, 170.30, 170.40, 170.65 and 9 170.70 relating to forgery; sections 175.10, 175.25, 175.35, 175.40 and 10 210.40 relating to false statements; sections 176.15, 176.20, 176.25 and 11 176.30 relating to insurance fraud; sections 176.90 and 176.95 relating 12 to unlawful procurement of clients, patients or customers; sections 13 178.20 and 178.25 relating to criminal diversion of prescription medica- 14 tions and prescriptions; sections 180.03, 180.08, 180.15, 180.25, 15 180.40, 180.45, 200.00, 200.03, 200.04, 200.10, 200.11, 200.12, 200.20, 16 200.22, 200.25, 200.27, 200.56, 215.00, 215.05 and 215.19 relating to 17 bribery; sections 187.10, 187.15, 187.20 and 187.25 relating to residen- 18 tial mortgage fraud, sections 190.40 and 190.42 relating to criminal 19 usury; section 190.65 relating to schemes to defraud; any felony defined 20 in article four hundred ninety-six; sections 205.60 and 205.65 relating 21 to hindering prosecution; sections 210.10, 210.15, and 215.51 relating 22 to perjury and contempt; section 215.40 relating to tampering with phys- 23 ical evidence; sections 220.06, 220.09, 220.16, 220.18, 220.21, 220.31, 24 220.34, 220.39, 220.41, 220.43, 220.46, 220.55, 220.60, 220.65 and 25 220.77 relating to controlled substances; sections 225.10 and 225.20 26 relating to gambling; sections 230.25, 230.30, and 230.32 relating to 27 promoting prostitution; section 230.34 relating to sex trafficking; 28 section 230.34-a relating to sex trafficking of a child; sections 29 235.06, 235.07, 235.21 and 235.22 relating to obscenity; sections 263.10 30 and 263.15 relating to promoting a sexual performance by a child; 31 sections 265.02, 265.03, 265.04, 265.11, 265.12, 265.13 and the 32 provisions of section 265.10 which constitute a felony relating to 33 firearms and other dangerous weapons; sections 265.14 and 265.16 relat- 34 ing to criminal sale of a firearm; section 265.50 relating to the crimi- 35 nal manufacture, sale or transport of an undetectable firearm, rifle or 36 shotgun; section 275.10, 275.20, 275.30, or 275.40 relating to unauthor- 37 ized recordings; and sections 470.05, 470.10, 470.15 and 470.20 relating 38 to money laundering; or 39 § 4. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed- 40 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
