§ 44–151.15. Criminal penalties.
(a) Any person who violates § 44-151.02(a), or makes, or causes to be made, in a document filed with the Commissioner or in any proceeding under this chapter, a statement which is, at the time and in the light of the circumstances under which it is made, false or misleading in any material respect, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall pay a fine of not more than $1,000, be imprisoned for not more than one year, or both. All prosecutions under this subsection shall be upon information filed in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia in the name of the District by the Attorney General for the District of Columbia or any of his or her assistants.
(b) A person shall be guilty of fraud in the second degree, as defined in § 22-3221(b), if the person, in connection with the offer, sale, or purchase of continuing care services, knowingly or intentionally:
(1) Employs a device, scheme, or artifice to defraud;
(2) Obtains money or property by means of an untrue statement of a material fact or an omission to state a material fact in order to make the statements made, in the light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading;
(3) Engages in a transaction, practice, or course of business which operates, or would operate, as a fraud or deceit upon a person; or
(4) In a matter within the jurisdiction of the Commissioner, falsifies, conceals, or covers up, by a trick, scheme, or device, a material fact, makes any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation, or makes or use any false writing or document, knowing the same to contain a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry.
(c) A person shall be guilty of fraud in the first degree, as defined in § 22-3221(a), if the person, by use of a plan, program, or campaign that is conducted using one or more telephones or other electronic means of communication for the purpose of inducing the purchase or sale of continuing care services, knowingly or intentionally:
(1) Employs a device, scheme, or artifice to defraud;
(2) Obtains money or property by means of an untrue statement of a material fact or an omission to state a material fact in order to make the statements made, in the light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading;
(3) Engages in a transaction, practice, or course of business which operates, or would operate, as a fraud or deceit upon a person; or
(4) In a matter within the jurisdiction of the Commissioner, falsifies, conceals, or covers up, by a trick, scheme, or device, a material fact, makes any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation, or makes or use any false writing or document, knowing the same to contain a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry.
(d) The evidence which is available concerning violation of this chapter or of any rule or order under this chapter may be referred to the Attorney General for the District of Columbia who may, with or without such reference, institute the appropriate criminal proceedings under this chapter.
(e) Nothing in this chapter shall limit the power of the District to punish a person for conduct constituting a crime under other law.
