Thomas E. Fraysse

As a manager of Knox Ricksen since the late 1980s, Tom was instrumental in transforming Knox Ricksen from a traditional insurance defense firm into a powerhouse boutique specializing in large-scale qui tam actions against fraudulent healthcare providers. He has litigated thousands of actions and is responsible for numerous multimillion-dollar plaintiff verdicts and judgments, including what is believed to be the largest judgment utilizing California’s Insurance Frauds Prevention Act (IFPA) on behalf of a major labor union’s health and welfare trust — $164 million. Though his focus throughout his career has been on healthcare fraud, Tom has successfully handled numerous catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death actions, including a recent case against Mendocino County for dangerous condition of public property that resulted in a $15 million settlement.

In addition to his success at trial, Tom and partner Maisie Sokolove have won numerous appellate cases involving the IFPA, creating new case law that significantly advances the interests of defrauded insurance carriers and other payers filing IFPA actions.

Tom is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, has been selected for inclusion in Northern California Super Lawyers every year since 2005 and is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell. His involvement with the Anti-Fraud Alliance goes back to its formative years in the 1980s and he is proud of helping the association grow from a small regional presence to a nationwide leader. Tom has spoken at the Annual Anti-Fraud Conference in Monterey as well as other conferences on a wide variety of fraud-related topics. The Daily Journal named Tom a “Top Health Care Lawyer” in California in 2021. The same year, the National Law Journal lauded Tom as a “Healthcare Law Trailblazer.” Tom’s cases have been featured on CBS and ABC news, on NPR, and in the pages of The Wall Street Journal and The Daily Beast, among other news outlets.

• Secured a $164 million qui tam judgment after court trial for a union welfare trust plan based on false and fraudulent billings submitted by an illegally-owned healthcare provider.
• Settled a dangerous condition of public property case against the County of Mendocino for a seriously injured physician for $15 million.
• Secured $9.2 million insurance bad faith jury verdict, including punitive damages, against a disability insurance company on behalf of a totally disabled U.S. Postal Service employee and, thereafter, represented disabled persons, securing numerous multi-million dollar settlements.
• Secured $11.5 million qui tam judgment and a permanent injunction after a jury trial in the matter of People of the State of California ex rel. Allstate Insurance Company v. Wonguen Chang et al., which involved claims made by a phony or “sham” law firm owned and operated by non-professionals; prevailed on appeal.
• Secured $7 million judgment after a seven-week court trial in a qui tam case in the matter of People of the State of California ex rel. Allstate Insurance Company v. Daniel H. Dahan and Progressive Diagnostic Imaging, Inc., which arose out of the production of false, fraudulent or misleading x-ray reports to support fraudulent claims against insurance companies; prevailed on appeal.
• Represent insurance carriers and 160 victims of a fraud scheme involving implanting counterfeit medical devices into victims, paying kickbacks to physicians and fraudulently billing insurance companies.
• Represent a major union health plan in a qui tam case in which a single doctor allegedly prescribed $55 million of bogus compounded medication over 13 months, and a pharmacist reaped $43 million in illicit gains.
• Settled a premises liability slip-and-fall personal injury case against City College of San Francisco and the City and County of San Francisco for a seriously injured aeronautics instructor for $6.5 million.
• Secured a $48 million qui tam judgment for a union welfare trust plan based on false and fraudulent billings.

• People ex rel. Allstate Ins. Co. v. Dahan (2016) 3 Cal.App.5th 372
• People ex rel. Allstate Ins. Co. v. Suh (2019) 37 Cal.App.5th 253
• People ex rel. Allstate Ins. Co. v. Rubin (2021) 66 Cal.App.5th 493
• People ex rel. Allstate Ins. Co. v. Discovery Radiology Physicians, P.C. (2023) 94 Cal.App.5th 521

• Workshop speaker, “Ethics for Prosecutors, Civil Attorneys, Special Investigation Units and Other Investigators Handling Fraud Matters,” 30^th Annual Anti-Fraud Conference, Monterey, CA (April 2019)
• Workshop speaker, “Strategies and Approaches in the Trial of Complex Criminal and Civil Insurance Fraud Actions Against Medical Providers,” 29^th Annual Anti-Fraud Conference, Monterey, CA (April 2018)
• Workshop speaker, “The Investigation and Civil Prosecution of Lay Persons Owning, Operating and Controlling ‘Sham’ Law Offices,” 27^th Annual Anti-Fraud Conference, Monterey, CA (April 2017)
• Workshop speaker, “Ethics,” 26^thAnnual Anti-Fraud Conference, Monterey, CA (April 2015)
• Workshop speaker, “From Inside Clinic Walls,” 26^thAnnual Anti-Fraud Conference, Monterey, CA (April 2015)
• Workshop speaker, “Workers’ Compensation Health Care Fraud Investigations,” 25^th Annual Anti-Fraud Conference, Monterey, CA (April 2014)
• Workshop speaker, “Two Case Studies: The Anatomy of Eleven Million Dollars in Civil Insurance Fraud Judgments,” 24^th Annual Anti-Fraud Conference, Monterey, CA (March 2013)
• Workshop speaker, “The ABC’s of MD/DC, Investigation and Legal Options Associated with the MD/DC Business Model,” AFA Fall Quarterly Meeting, Lafayette, CA (December 2012)
• Workshop speaker, “Investigating and Legal Options Associated with the MD/DC Model,” International Association of Special Investigation Units (IASIU) 27^th Annual Seminar, Palm Desert, CA (September 2012)
• Workshop speaker, “Ethics in the Fight Against Fraud,” 23^rd Annual Anti-Fraud Training Conference, Monterey, CA (April 2012)
• Workshop speaker, “Preparing California Insurance Code Section 1871.7, California Business and Professions Code Section 17200, RICO and Common Law Fraud Actions for Civil Prosecution,” 21^st Annual Anti-Fraud Training Conference, Monterey, CA (March 2010)
• Workshop speaker, “Illegal Ownership of Clinics,” Northern California Fraud Investigators Association/California Department of Insurance/California District Attorneys Association 20^th Annual Training Conference, Monterey, CA (April 2009)
• Workshop speaker, “Interview Techniques, Examinations Under Oath and Depositions: How to Get to the Truth and Prepare a Case,“ California District Attorneys Association Insurance Fraud SIU Multi-Agency Conference South, Riverside, CA (February 2008)
• Workshop speaker, “Interview Techniques, Examinations Under Oath and Depositions: How to Get to the Truth and Prepare a Case,“ California District Attorneys Association Insurance Fraud SIU Multi-Agency Conference North, Pleasanton, CA (January 2008)
• Panelist, “Status of California Silica Litigation,” California Silica Litigation 2006: For The Defense, Toxic Torts Committee of the Association of Defense Counsel of Northern California and Nevada, San Francisco, CA (February 2006)
• Speaker, “Overview of Silica Litigation,” California Silica Litigation 2006: For The Defense, Toxic Tort Committee of the Association of Defense Counsel of Northern California and Nevada, San Francisco, CA (February 2006)
• Speaker, “Essentials of Best Practices – A Collaborative and Tactical Strategy for Combating Fraud – The Role of SIU Counsel,” Claims Conference of Northern California Annual Meeting, Oakland, CA (September 2005)
• Speaker, “Silica Litigation Update,” 2005 Annual E&C Risk Management Group Conference, Gleneden Beach, OR (June 2005)
• Speaker, “Essentials of Best Practices – A Collaborative and Tactical Strategy for Combating Fraud – The Role of SIU Counsel,” Sacramento Claims Association Luncheon, Rancho Cordova, CA (May 2005)
• Speaker, “Essentials of Best Practices – A Collaborative and Tactical Strategy for Combating Fraud – The Role of SIU Counsel,” California District Attorneys Association Insurance Fraud SIU Multi-Agency Conference, Berkeley, CA (March 2005)
• Speaker, “Essentials of Best Practices – A Collaborative and Tactical Strategy for Combating Fraud – The Role of SIU Counsel,” Northern California Fraud Investigators Association 16^th Annual Training Conference, Monterey, CA (March 2005)
• Speaker, “Use of the California Qui Tam Statute, the Unfair Competition Act, and Common Law Fraud in Fighting Auto Insurance Fraud in California,” Monterey, CA (December 2005)
• Speaker, “Accident Investigation – Practical Suggestions for Safety Personnel Investigating Construction Zone Accidents,” Monterey, CA (January 2005)
• Speaker, “Silica Litigation,” Monterey, CA (January 2005)
• Speaker, “Essentials of Best Practices – A Collaborative and Tactical Strategy for Combating Fraud – The Role of SIU Counsel,” California District Attorneys Association Insurance Fraud SIU Multi-Agency Conference, San Diego, CA (November 2004)
• Speaker, “Unfair Business Practice or Unfair Claim? Fraud in Motion,” Wheels, Water & Vertical Carriers – Merging Themes in California Transportation Law, Association of Defense Counsel of Northern California and Nevada, Sacramento, CA (May 2004)

• Member, Anti-Fraud Alliance
  • President (2004-2005, 2016-2018)
  • Member of the Board of Directors (2002-2004, 2005-2006, 2018-2024)
• Associate, American Board of Trial Advocates—ABOTA