Mississippi § 75-67-527 - Violations; criminal and civil penalties; enforcement; order to refrain; injunctions; bond forfeiture.

§ 75-67-527. Violations; criminal and civil penalties; enforcement; order to refrain; injunctions; bond forfeiture.

In addition to any other penalty which may be applicable, any licensee or employee who willfully violates any provision of this article, or who willfully makes a false entry in any record specifically required by this article, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof, shall be punishable by a fine not in excess of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) per violation or false entry. Compliance with the criminal provisions of this article shall be enforced by the appropriate law enforcement agency, which may exercise for that purpose any authority conferred upon the agency by law. When the commissioner has reasonable cause to believe that a person is violating any provision of this article, the commissioner, in addition to and without prejudice to the authority provided elsewhere in this article, may enter an order requiring the person to stop or to 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. The commissioner may impose a civil penalty against any licensee adjudged by the commissioner to be in violation of the provisions of this article. The civil penalty shall not exceed Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) per violation and shall be deposited into the Department of Banking and Consumer Finance, “Consumer Finance Fund.” Any licensee convicted in the manner provided in this article shall forfeit the surety bond or deposit required in Section 75-67-509(c) and the amount of the bond or deposit shall be credited to the budget of the state or local agency which directly participated in the prosecution of the licensee, for the specific purpose of increasing law enforcement resources for that specific state or local agency. The bond or deposit shall be used to augment existing state and local law enforcement budgets and not to supplant them.