The Insurance Fraud Prevention Act (IFPA; Ins. Code 1871, et seq.) allows qui tam plaintiffs to file lawsuits on the government’s behalf and seek monetary penalties against perpetrators of insurance fraud.  To prevent duplicative lawsuits, the IFPA contains a “first-to-file rule” (Ins. Code 1871.7(e)(5)) that bars parties from filing subsequent actions related to an already pending lawsuit.  This decision holds that the first-to-file rule only bars suit regarding the same fraudulent scheme and regarding the same insurer-victims.  So, State Farm’s later-filed suit could proceed against Rubin on a claim of fraud relating to epidural steroid injections as to false claims submitted to insurers other than Allstate, which had filed an earlier suit on that same scheme but only as to claims submitted to it.  Also, State Farm could proceed as to all insurer victims of Rubin’s other fraudulent scheme involving MRI scans.