75-15-31 - Penalties.
§ 75-15-31. Penalties.
(1) If any person to whom or which this chapter applies or any agent, subagent or representative of that person violates any of the provisions of this chapter or attempts to transact the business of selling or issuing or delivering checks as a service or for a fee or other consideration, without having first obtained license from the commissioner under the provisions of this chapter, that person and each such agent, subagent or representative shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) nor more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), and may also be confined to the county jail or sentenced to hard labor for the county, for not more than twelve (12) months. Each violation shall constitute a separate offense.
(2) If any person engages in business as provided for in this chapter without paying the license fee provided for in this chapter before commencing business or before the expiration of the person's current license, as the case may be, then the person shall be liable for the full amount of the license fee plus a penalty in an amount not to exceed Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) for each day that the person has engaged in the business without a license or after the expiration of a license.
(3) The commissioner may, after notice and hearing, impose a civil penalty against any licensee if the licensee or employee is adjudged by the commissioner to be in violation of the provisions of this chapter. The civil penalty shall not exceed Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) per violation and shall be deposited into the Consumer Finance Fund of the Department of Banking and Consumer Finance.
(4) When the commissioner has reasonable cause to believe that a person is violating any provision of this chapter, the commissioner, in addition to and without prejudice to the authority provided elsewhere in this chapter, may enter an order requiring the person to stop and refrain from the violation. The commissioner may sue in any circuit court of the state having jurisdiction and venue to enjoin the person from engaging in or continuing the violation or from doing any act in furtherance of the violation. In such an action, the court may enter an order or judgment awarding a preliminary or permanent injunction.
Sources: Codes, 1942, § 5131-16; Laws, 1966, ch. 257, § 16; Laws, 2000, ch. 621, § 11; Laws, 2004, ch. 450, § 4, eff from and after passage (approved Apr. 28, 2004.)