(1) Any person who obtains or any person who willfully aids or abets another to obtain public assistance or vendor payments or medical assistance as defined in this title 26 to which the person is not entitled or in an amount greater than that to which the person is justly entitled or payment of any forfeited installment grants or benefits to which the person is not entitled or in a greater amount than that to which the person is entitled, by means of a willfully false statement or representation, or by impersonation, or by any other fraudulent device, commits the crime of theft, which crime is classified in accordance with section 18-4-401 (2) and which crime is punished as provided in section 18-1.3-401 if the crime is classified as a felony, or section 18-1.3-501 if the crime is classified as a misdemeanor. To the extent not otherwise prohibited by state or federal law, any person violating the provisions of this subsection (1) is disqualified from participation in the public assistance program under article 2 of this title 26 in which a recipient is found to have committed an intentional program violation for one year for a first offense, two years for a second offense, and permanently for a third or subsequent offense. Such disqualification is mandatory and is in addition to any other penalty imposed by law.
(1.5) To the extent not otherwise prohibited by state or federal law, any person against whom a county department of social services or the state department obtains a civil judgment in a state or federal court of record in this state based on allegations that the person obtained or willfully aided and abetted another to obtain public assistance or vendor payments or medical assistance as defined in this title 26 to which the person is not entitled or in an amount greater than that to which the person is justly entitled or payment of any forfeited installment grants or benefits to which the person is not entitled or in a greater amount than that to which the person is entitled, by means of a willfully false statement or representation, or by impersonation, or by any other fraudulent device, is disqualified from participation in the public assistance program under article 2 of this title 26 in which a recipient is found to have committed an intentional program violation for one year for a first incident, two years for a second incident, and permanently for a third or subsequent incident. Such disqualification is mandatory and is in addition to any other remedy available to a judgment creditor.
(2) (a) If, at any time during the continuance of public assistance under this title, the recipient thereof acquires any property or receives any increase in income or property, or both, in excess of that declared at the time of determination or redetermination of eligibility or if there is any other change in circumstances affecting the recipient's eligibility, it shall be the duty of the recipient to notify the county department within thirty days in writing or take steps to secure county assistance to prepare such notification in writing of the acquisition of such property, receipt of such income, or change in such circumstances; and any recipient of such public assistance who knowingly fails to do so commits a class 3 misdemeanor and shall be punished as provided in section 18-1.3-501, C.R.S. If such property or income is received infrequently or irregularly and does not exceed a total value of ninety dollars in any calendar quarter, such property or income shall be excluded from the thirty-day written reporting requirement but shall be reported at the time of the next redetermination of eligibility of a recipient.
(b) The county departments shall use an application form which contains appropriate and conspicuous notice of the penalties for fraud and shall deliver to each recipient, with the first check and each redetermination thereafter, a notice explaining what changes in circumstances require written notification to the county department under paragraph (a) of this subsection (2). The county department shall make available suitable forms which may be used for the purposes of this notification.
Any recipient or vendor who falsifies any report required under this title commits aclass 3 misdemeanor and shall be punished as provided in section 18-1.3-501, C.R.S.
Subject to available appropriations, additional costs incurred by the district attorneysin enforcing this section shall be billed to the county departments in the judicial district in such proportion for each county as specified in section 20-1-302, C.R.S., and the county departments shall pay such costs as an expense of public assistance administration.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, the state department, county departments, or district attorney may elect, in the alternative, to prosecute under the general criminal statutes.
Repealed.
Source: L. 77: Entire section added, p. 1333, § 3, effective January 1, 1978. L. 79: (6) repealed, p. 1093, § 2, effective June 21. L. 81: (1) amended, p. 1371, § 1, effective June 5. L. 89: (1) amended, p. 846, § 118, effective July 1. L. 94: (1) amended and (1.5) added, p. 2062, § 4, effective July 1. L. 97: (1) and (1.5) amended, p. 1229, § 13, effective July 1. L. 2002: (1), (2)(a), and (3) amended, p. 1538, § 272, effective October 1. L. 2020: (1) and (1.5) amended, (SB 20-206), ch. 222, p. 1095, § 1, effective July 2.
Cross references: (1) For fraudulent acts relating to food stamps, see §§ 26-2-305 and
26-2-306; for offenses involving fraud under the "Colorado Criminal Code", see part 1 of article 5 of title 18.
(2) For the legislative declaration contained in the 2002 act amending subsections (1),
(2)(a), and (3), see section 1 of chapter 318, Session Laws of Colorado 2002.