(a) A person who willfully violates Section 8-6-3 or Section 8-6-4, upon conviction, shall be guilty of a Class C felony. A person that willfully violates subsection (a), (b), or (c) of Section 8-6-17, upon conviction, shall be guilty of a Class B felony. The limitations period for any prosecution under this section does not commence or begin to accrue until the discovery of the facts constituting the deception, after which the prosecution shall be commenced within five years.
(b) A person who willfully violates any provision of this chapter, other than those noted in subsection (a), or a rule adopted or order issued under this chapter, upon conviction, shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
(c) The enforcement of the provisions of this article shall be vested in the commission. It shall be the duty of the commission to see that its provisions are at all times obeyed and to take such measures and to make such investigations as will prevent or detect the violation of any provision thereof. The commission shall at once lay before the district attorney of the proper county any evidence which shall come to its knowledge of criminality under this article. In the event of the neglect or refusal of the district attorney to institute and prosecute such violation, the commission shall be authorized to proceed therein with all the rights, privileges, and powers conferred by law upon district or court attorneys including the power to appear before grand juries and to interrogate witnesses before such grand juries.
(d) Nothing in this article limits the power of the state to punish any person for any conduct which constitutes a crime by statute or at common law.
(e) In any proceeding under this article, scienter need not be alleged and proved in prosecutions involving the sale of unregistered securities or in the failure to register as a dealer, agent, investment adviser, or investment adviser representative under this article.
Structure Code of Alabama
Title 8 - Commercial Law and Consumer Protection.
Article 1 - General Provisions.
Section 8-6-3 - Registration and Bonds of Dealers, Agents, Investment Advisers, Etc.
Section 8-6-4 - Registration of Securities - Required; Exceptions.
Section 8-6-5 - Registration of Securities - Registration by Notification.
Section 8-6-6 - Registration of Securities - Registration of Certain Securities by Coordination.
Section 8-6-7 - Registration of Securities - Registration by Qualification.
Section 8-6-9 - Registration of Securities - Denial, Suspension and Revocation of Registration.
Section 8-6-10 - Registration of Securities - Exempt Securities.
Section 8-6-11 - Registration of Securities - Exempt Transactions.
Section 8-6-15 - Investigations and Subpoenas by Commission.
Section 8-6-17 - Prohibited Acts Regarding Offer, Sale, or Purchase of Securities.
Section 8-6-18 - Criminal Penalties for Violations of Article; Enforcement; Scienter.
Section 8-6-19 - Civil Liabilities of Sellers, Agents, etc.; Remedies of Purchasers.
Section 8-6-23 - Making, Amending, and Rescinding Rules and Prescribing Forms by Commission.
Section 8-6-24 - Liability for Acts Done or Omitted in Good Faith Under Rules, Forms, or Orders.
Section 8-6-25 - Hearings to Be Public; Requests for Private Hearings.
Section 8-6-26 - Document Deemed Filed When Received.
Section 8-6-27 - Commission to Keep Register; Register to Be Open for Public Inspection.
Section 8-6-29 - Interpretative Opinions by Commission.
Section 8-6-30 - Burden of Proving Exemption or Exception From Definition.
Section 8-6-31 - Commission May Issue Warnings to Public and Publish Information Regarding Orders.