Any telephone solicitor who violates § 22-3226.06 and obtains property thereby shall be guilty of the crime of telemarketing fraud, which is punishable as follows:

(1) If the amount of the transaction is valued at $20,000 or more, the seller or telephone solicitor shall upon conviction be guilty of a felony, and shall be subject to a fine of not more than the amount set forth in § 22-3571.01 or imprisonment for not more than 4 years, or both.

(2) If the amount of the transaction is valued at less than $20,000 but more than $5,000, the seller or telephone solicitor shall upon conviction be guilty of a felony, and shall be subject to a fine of not more than the amount set forth in § 22-3571.01 or imprisonment for not more than 3 years, or both.

(3) If the amount of the transaction is valued at less than $5,000 or less, the seller or telephone solicitor shall upon conviction be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be subject to a fine of not more than the amount set forth in § 22-3571.01 or imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both.

(Dec. 1, 1982, D.C. Law 4-164, § 126j; as added June 8, 2001, D.C. Law 13-301, § 102, 47 DCR 7039; June 11, 2013, D.C. Law 19-317, § 205(m), 60 DCR 2064.)

This section is referenced in § 16-801 and § 22-3226.06.

The 2013 amendment by D.C. Law 19-317 substituted “not more than the amount set forth in § 22-3571.01” for “not more than $10,000” in (1), for “not more than $5,000” in (2), and “not more than $500” in (3).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 205(m) of the Criminal Fine Proportionality Emergency Act of 2013 (D.C. Act 20-45, April 1, 2013, 60 DCR 5400, 20 DCSTAT 1300).

Applicability of D.C. Law 19-317: Section 401 of D.C. Law 19-317 provided that the act shall apply only to offenses committed on or after June 11, 2013.