49:3-70 Violations, penalties.

23. (a) Any person who knowingly violates any provision of this act, except section 7 or 13 of P.L.1967, c.93 (C.49:3-54 or C.49:3-60), or who knowingly violates any rule or order under this act, or who willfully violates section 7 of P.L.1967, c.93 (C.49:3-54), knowing the statement made to be false or misleading in any material respect, shall be guilty of a second or third degree crime, depending upon the amount of the loss as provided in subsection (d) of this section.

(b) Any person who recklessly violates subsection (a), (b) or (c) of section 5 or paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a) or subsection (f) of section 6 of P.L.1967, c.93 (C.49:3-52 or 49:3-53) or section 6 of this act, shall be guilty of a crime of the fourth degree.

(c) For purposes of this section, "knowingly" and "recklessly" shall have the respective meanings ascribed to them in subsection (b) of N.J.S.2C:2-2.

(d) If the total value of all money or anything else of value paid by or lost by victims of the violations of this act, resulting from the same device, scheme or artifice, from the same untrue statement of a material fact or failure to state a material fact, from the same act, practice or course of business, or from any other fraud involving any security is:

(1) less than $75,000, or if no monetary value can be placed upon the loss or if no person pays or loses anything of monetary value, the offender is guilty of a crime of the third degree;

(2) $75,000 or more, the offender is guilty of a crime of the second degree;

(e) No person may be imprisoned for the violation of any rule or order if he proves that he had no knowledge of the rule or order.

(f) An indictment or information returned under this act shall be subject to the limitations of N.J.S.2C:1-6. A violation is committed when every element occurs or at the time when the course of conduct or the actor's complicity therein is terminated.

(g) Nothing in this act shall limit the power of this State to prosecute a person for conduct constituting a crime under any other law.

L.1967,c.93,s.23; amended 1985, c.405, s.13; 1997, c.276. s.28.