AB 909: Financial abuse of an elder or dependent adult: fraudulent transactions: liability.

Official summary

Legislative Counsel’s Digest (official, as of the latest version). Written by nonpartisan legislative staff; reproduced verbatim.

Existing law, the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), provides that, unless displaced by the particular provisions of the UCC, the principles of law and equity, including the law merchant and the law relative to capacity to contract, principal and agent, estoppel, fraud, misrepresentation, duress, coercion, mistake, bankruptcy, and other validating or invalidating cause supplement the UCC.

Existing law generally regulates fund transfers, including by prescribing rules applicable to a transfer pursuant to a security procedure for the detection of error to a beneficiary not intended by the sender.

This bill would similarly specify that those fund transfer provisions do not displace those principles of law and equity.

Existing law requires all officers and employees of a financial institution to report known or suspected instances of financial abuse of an elder or dependent adult, as specified. Existing law imposes a civil penalty for violation of this prohibition in an amount not exceeding $1,000 or, if the failure to report is willful, a civil penalty not exceeding $5,000, as specified.

This bill would increase those civil penalties to $10,000 and $50,000, respectively, and would additionally authorize an elder or dependent adult who suffers financial abuse because of the noncompliance to recover those civil penalties.

This bill would also enact various provisions related to protecting a victim of abuse of an elder or dependent adult with respect to a fraudulently induced transaction, defined as an “injured consumer,” including by limiting the liability of an injured consumer for a fraudulently induced transaction to the lesser of $50 or the amount of money or value of property or services obtained in the fraudulently induced transaction before the financial institution has notice that, or a reasonable basis to believe that, a fraudulently induced transaction involving the injured consumer’s account has been, or may be, effected, as prescribed.

Sponsors

Sponsors by party (alphabetical): Democratic 1

“Support” is shown only as formal sponsorship recorded by the legislature. Roll-call votes are available on the official bill page.

Recent official actions

1. February 2, 2026From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56.
2. January 31, 2026Died pursuant to Art. IV, Sec. 10(c) of the Constitution.
3. April 1, 2025Re-referred to Com. on B. & F.
4. March 28, 2025Referred to Coms. on B.&F. and JUD.
5. March 28, 2025From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on B.&F. Read second time and amended.
6. February 20, 2025From printer. May be heard in committee March 22.
7. February 19, 2025Read first time. To print.