1.    Any person who willfully violates any provision of this chapter, except section 10-04-08.4 or subsection 4 of section 10-04-10, or any rule or order of the commissioner made pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, or who engages in any act, practice, or transaction declared by any provision of this chapter to be unlawful shall be guilty of a class B felony.

Attorney's Note

Under the North Dakota Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Class B felonyup to 10 yearsup to $20,000
For details, see § 12.1-32-01

Terms Used In North Dakota Code 10-04-18

  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
  • Person: means an individual, organization, government, political subdivision, or government agency or instrumentality. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • Rule: includes regulation. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49

2.    As used in this section, the term “willfully”, except as it applies to subdivisions a and b of subsection 1 of section 10-04-10.1 and subdivisions a and c of subsection 2 of section 10-04-15, means that the person acted intentionally in the sense that the     person was aware of what the person was doing. Proof of evil motive or intent to violate the law or knowledge that the law was being violated is not required.

3.    Each violative act or omission constitutes a separate offense, and a prosecution or conviction for any one offense shall not bar a prosecution or conviction for any other offense.

4.    An information must be filed or an indictment must be found under this chapter within five years after the alleged violation.

5.    No action may be brought under this chapter by the commissioner after five years from the date that the commissioner knew or reasonably should have known about the facts that are the basis for the alleged violation. This subsection does not apply to any action under sections 10-04-09 and 10-04-11.