South Carolina Code 38-55-560. Insurance Fraud Division; duties; powers and duties of Attorney General; forensic accountant
(B) The Attorney General, upon receipt of any claims or allegations of violations of §§ 38-55-170 and 38-55-540 and related criminal insurance activity, is empowered to:
Terms Used In South Carolina Code 38-55-560
- Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
- Department: means the Department of Insurance of South Carolina. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
- Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
- insurance: includes annuities. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- License: means a document issued by the state's director or his designee authorizing a person to act as an insurance producer for the lines of authority specified in the document. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
- Person: means any natural person, company, corporation, unincorporated association, partnership, professional corporation, or other legal entity and includes any applicant, policyholder, claimant, medical providers, vocational rehabilitation provider, attorney, agent, insurer, fund, or advisory organization. See South Carolina Code 38-55-530
- Premium: means payment given in consideration of a contract of insurance. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
- Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
- Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
(1) refer the matter for investigation to the State Law Enforcement Division;
(2) prosecute persons determined to be in violation of §§ 38-55-170 and 38-55-540 and related criminal insurance activity in a court of competent jurisdiction; and
(3) collect fines and restitution ordered by the court. Where considered appropriate, the Attorney General may use the Setoff Debt Collection Act to collect fines and restitution ordered as a result of actions brought pursuant to §§ 38-55-170 and 38-55-540.
(C) The State Law Enforcement Division shall investigate thoroughly all claims or allegations of violations of §§ 38-55-170 and 38-55-540 and related criminal insurance activity received from the Attorney General pursuant to this section.
(D) The Insurance Fraud Division of the Office of Attorney General and the investigative services of the State law Enforcement Division as provided by this section must be funded by an appropriation of not less than two hundred thousand dollars annually from the general revenues of the State derived from the insurance premium taxes collected by the Department of Insurance and/or from fines assessed under §§ 38-55-170 and 38-55-540 which must be deposited in the general revenue fund to the credit of the Office of the Attorney General and the State Law Enforcement Division to offset the costs of this program; provided, that the funds generated from these fines, to be utilized by either the Office of the Attorney General or the State Law Enforcement Division shall not total more than five hundred thousand dollars. These monies must be shared equally on a fifty-fifty basis by the Office of the Attorney General and the State Law Enforcement Division, and the balance must go to the general fund of the State.
(E) The Office of the Attorney General is authorized to hire, employ, and reasonably equip one forensic accountant, and this forensic accountant must be assigned to the Insurance Fraud Division of the Office of the Attorney General. A person is not qualified to be hired and the Insurance Fraud Division may not hire a forensic accountant unless he possesses and maintains a current license to engage in the practice of accounting pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 2 of Title 40.