§1099. Criminal penalties

A. The commissioner may report the violations of the following provisions to the attorney general or to the district attorney of the appropriate parish, who may institute the proper proceedings.

B. It shall be a misdemeanor for a mortgage broker or lender to knowingly collect advance fees in excess of those provided for in R.S. 6:1096(G), and upon conviction he shall be subject to a fine not less than five hundred dollars and not more than one thousand dollars, or to imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both.

C. Any person who knowingly provides false or misleading information to the commissioner on an application and such information is material to approval of the application shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be subject to a fine not less than five hundred dollars and not more than one thousand dollars, or to imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both.

D. Any licensee or exempt registrant who fails to account for or deliver to any person any money, funds, deposits, checks, drafts, mortgages, or other documents, or things of value to the borrower in violation of the provisions of this Chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be subject to a fine not less than five hundred dollars and not more than one thousand dollars, or to imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both.

E. Any licensee who fails to disburse, without just cause, any funds belonging to the borrower shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be subject to a fine not less than five hundred dollars and not more than one thousand dollars, or to imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both.

F. A lender, broker, originator, or servicer who knowingly operates without a license or while not exempt from the provisions of this Chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be subject to a fine not less than five hundred dollars and not more than one thousand dollars, or to imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both.

Acts 2001, No. 617, §1, eff. June 22, 2001; Acts 2003, No. 875, §1; Acts 2009, No. 522, §1, eff. July 31, 2009; Acts 2014, No. 260, §1, eff. June 30, 2014.