3948 REVIEW GRANTED A government entity is a statutory person who may bring a qui tam action under the False Claims Act; under the False Claims Act, treble damages for failing to report property that should escheat to the state under the Unclaimed Property Act consists of three times twelve percent interest on the value of the unreported property; the interest differential between the low interest charged by a bank lending money to an escrow company based on the amount of escrow funds deposited by the company and higher interest instruments that the bank required the escrow company to purchase was interest the collection of which by the escrow company was an unlawful business practice; borrowers who paid interest on funds deposited in escrow by lending institutions to finance transactions involving the borrowers were entitled to any interest the escrow company earned on those funds; an auditor's failure to include in financial statements filed with the Insurance Commissioner as required by law escrow funds received by an escrow company and not claimed by the parties who were entitled to those funds was an unlawful practice for which the auditor could be liable under the Unfair Competition Law.

STATE v PRICE WATERHOUSE (Escrow Improprieties)125 CA4 1219 [See: GovC 12650 etseq; B&PC 17200 etseq, 5062; CCP 1577; City of LA v City of San Fernando 14 C3 199; City of Pomona v Superior Court 89 CA4 793, T/AT 7/01; Kraus v Trinity 23 C4 116, T/AT 7/00; CelTech v LA Cellular 20 C4 163, T/AT 5/99; Bily v Arthur Young 3 C4 370, T/AT 11/92]