Section 548 Of Chapter 10. Crimes Against Insured Property And Insurers From California Penal Code >> Title 13. >> Part 1. >> Chapter 10.
548
. (a) Every person who willfully injures, destroys, secretes,
abandons, or disposes of any property which at the time is insured
against loss or damage by theft, or embezzlement, or any casualty
with intent to defraud or prejudice the insurer, whether the property
is the property or in the possession of that person or any other
person, is punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of
Section 1170 for two, three, or five years and by a fine not
exceeding fifty thousand dollars ($50,000).
For purposes of this section, "casualty" does not include fire.
(b) Any person who violates subdivision (a) and who has a prior
conviction of the offense set forth in that subdivision, in Section
550 of this code, or in former Section 556 or former Section 1871.1
of the Insurance Code, shall receive a two-year enhancement for each
prior conviction in addition to the sentence provided under
subdivision (a). The existence of any fact which would subject a
person to a penalty enhancement shall be alleged in the information
or indictment and either admitted by the defendant in open court, or
found to be true by the jury trying the issue of guilt or by the
court where guilt is established by plea of guilty or nolo contendere
or by trial by the court sitting without a jury.