38.2-4614 - Prohibition against payment or receipt of title insurance kickbacks, rebates, commissions and other payments; penalty.
§ 38.2-4614. Prohibition against payment or receipt of title insurancekickbacks, rebates, commissions and other payments; penalty.
A. 1. No person selling real property, or performing services as a realestate agent, attorney, or lender incident to any real estate settlement orsale, shall pay or receive, directly or indirectly, any kickback, rebate,commission, thing of value or other payment pursuant to any agreement orunderstanding, oral or otherwise, that business incident to the issuance ofany title insurance be referred to any title insurance company, titleinsurance agency or agent. No title insurance company, title insurance agencyor agent shall give any such kickback, rebate, commission, thing of value orother payment pursuant to any such agreement or understanding. For purposesof this section, "thing of value" means any payment, advance, funds, loan,service or other consideration. This section shall not prevent any federallyinsured lenders, holding companies to which they belong, or subsidiaries ofsuch lenders or holding companies from being licensed by the Commission astitle insurance agents or agencies and receiving commissions from the sale ofthe title insurance policies in their capacities as title insurance agents oragencies.
2. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit (i) payments ofsums spent for bona fide advertising and marketing promotions otherwisepermissible under the provisions of the Real Estate Settlement ProceduresAct, 12 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq. or (ii) providing educational materials orclasses, wherein such materials or classes are provided to a group of personsor entities pursuant to a bona fide marketing or educational effort.
B. Any person who knowingly and willfully violates this section shall beguilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine of not more than $1,000 foreach violation. Any criminal charge brought under this section shall be byindictment pursuant to Chapter 14 (§ 19.2-216 et seq.) of Title 19.2.
C. No person shall be in violation of this section solely by reason ofownership in a title insurance company, title insurance agency or agent asdefined in this chapter, wherein such person receives returns on investmentsarising from the ownership interest. In addition, this section shall notprohibit (i) the payment to any person of a bona fide salary or compensationor other payment for services actually performed for the business of thetitle insurance company, title insurance agency or agent or (ii) anyemployer's payment to its own bona fide employees for referrals. Anyemployer's payment to its own employees for the referral of title insurancebusiness shall be subject to the requirements of subdivision B 8 of §38.2-1821.1.
(1975, c. 184, § 38.1-733.1; 1986, c. 562; 1987, c. 174; 1993, c. 147; 1996,c. 883; 2002, c. 599.)