South Carolina § 32-7-100 - Penalties; revocation of license; request for contested case hearing.

§ 32-7-100. Penalties; revocation of license; request for contested case hearing.

(A) A person wilfully violating the provisions of this chapter is guilty of a:

(1) misdemeanor, if the value of money obtained or sought to be obtained is ten thousand dollars or less and, upon conviction or plea, the person may be fined up to twenty-five thousand dollars, or imprisoned for not more than six months, or both;

(2) felony, if the value of money obtained or sought to be obtained is more than ten thousand dollars, and, upon conviction or plea, the person must be fined in the discretion of the court in an amount not less than twenty-five thousand dollars, or imprisoned for not more than ten years, or both;

(3) in addition, a person convicted of a misdemeanor pursuant to this section may be prohibited from entering into further preneed funeral contracts, if the department, in its discretion, finds that the offense is sufficiently grievous. A person convicted of a felony pursuant to this chapter is subject to the following additional penalties when the value of the money obtained or sought to be obtained is:

(a) twenty-five thousand dollars or less, upon conviction or plea, the person is subject to a two-year suspension from conducting preneed funeral contract sales, and restitution as may be ordered by the court;

(b) greater than twenty-five thousand dollars, but less than one hundred thousand dollars, upon conviction or plea, the person is subject to a five-year suspension from conducting preneed funeral contract sales, and restitution as may be ordered by the court;

(c) greater than one hundred thousand dollars, upon conviction or plea, the person is subject to a ten-year suspension from conducting preneed funeral contract sales, and restitution as may be ordered by the court.

(B) The determination of the degree of an offense under subsection (A) must be measured by the total value of all money obtained or sought to be obtained by the unlawful conduct.

(C)(1) Before the suspension, revocation, or other action by the department involving a license to sell preneed funeral contracts becomes final, a licensee is entitled to request a contested case hearing before the Administrative Law Court, in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act.

(2) Other action by the department may include a warning notice of deficiency, additional education requirements concerning the provisions of this chapter, a fine, or a cease and desist order for violation of a provision in this chapter.

HISTORY: 1962 Code SECTION 11-181; 1973 (58) 339; 1989 Act No. 89, SECTION 1; 2009 Act No. 70, SECTION 1, eff July 1, 2009; 2012 Act No. 261, SECTION 5, eff June 18, 2012; 2024 Act No. 223 (H.4116), SECTION 2, eff July 1, 2024.

Effect of Amendment

The 2009 amendment designated subsection (A), in the first sentence substituted "one thousand dollars or more than five thousand dollars" for "five hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars", in the second sentence substituted "department" for "board", and deleted the third sentence relating to appealing revocation of a license; and added subsection (B) pertaining to requesting a contested case hearing.

The 2012 amendment rewrote the section.

2024 Act No. 223, SECTION 2, rewrote (A).