787

(a) Any person who violates any provision of §§ 771—789 of this title shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be subject to a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500) or to imprisonment for not more than one (1) year, or both penalties, at the discretion of the court. The Board of Accountancy, motu proprio or at the request of the College, may by itself or through the Secretary of Justice initiate and execute before competent courts the appropriate procedures and actions against persons practicing this profession illegally.(b) The Board of Accountancy is hereby empowered to impose administrative fines that shall not exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) for every incident or violation of §§ 771—789 of this title or to the regulations promulgated thereunder. The imposition of a fine and its amount shall be closely related to the type and severity of the violation. History —May 15, 1945, No. 293, p. 1098, § 16, renumbered as § 15 on Apr. 27, 1994, No. 13, § 10; May 3, 2004, No. 105, § 2.