Penalties for fraud and false statements in the National Flood Insurance Program

Part C of chapter II of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4081 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section: 1349. Penalties for fraud and false statements in the National Flood Insurance Program (a) Prohibited acts A person shall not knowingly make a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement, production, or submission in connection with the proving or adjusting of a claim for flood insurance coverage made available under this Act. Such prohibited acts include— (1) knowingly forging an engineering report, claims adjustment report or technical assistance report used to support a claim determination; (2) knowingly making any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation in an engineering report, claims adjustment report, or technical assistance report to support a claim determination that results in a wrongful denial or substantial payment error of flood insurance coverage; and (3) knowingly submitting a materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent claim that results in wrongful payment of flood insurance coverage. (b) Definition For purposes of this section, the term knowingly means having actual awareness of the prohibitions under this part and acting deliberately in violation of such prohibitions. (c) Administrative remedy Prior to any legal action being taken related to this section, all administrative remedies shall be exhausted. (d) Rule of construction This section shall not be construed— (1) to prevent the Federal Government from bringing action against a company or individual under applicable statutes, including the False Claims Act; and (2) as creating any action, private right of action, or remedy not otherwise provided by this title or under Federal law. (e) State action Any person found to have violated subsection (a) shall be referred to the appropriate and relevant State licensing agency by the Attorney General..