Ark. Code Ann. § 23-42-104 (2020)
Criminal penalties
- Any person who knowingly violates § 23-42-507 shall be guilty of the offense of “securities fraud”. Securities fraud is a Class B felony.
- Any person who knowingly violates § 23-42-501 shall be guilty of the offense of “felony offer or sale of unregistered and nonexempt securities”. Felony offer or sale of unregistered and nonexempt securities is a Class D felony.
- Any person who negligently violates § 23-42-501 shall be guilty of the offense of “offer or sale of unregistered and nonexempt securities”. Offer or sale of unregistered and nonexempt securities is a Class A misdemeanor.
- Any person who knowingly violates any rule or order of the Securities Commissioner shall be guilty of a Class B misdemeanor. No person may be imprisoned for a violation of any rule or order of which that person did not have actual knowledge.
- Any person who knowingly engages in any unlawful conduct prohibited by this chapter, except as provided in subsection (a), subsection (b), subsection (c), or subsection (d) of this section, shall be guilty of a Class D felony.
- “Purposely”, “knowingly”, “recklessly”, “negligently”, and the classes of felonies and misdemeanors set forth in this section shall be as defined and have such penalties as set forth in the Arkansas Criminal Code.
- Nothing in this chapter limits the power of the state to punish any person for any conduct which constitutes a crime by statute or common law.
- The provisions of subsection (e) of this section shall not apply to any violation of § 23-42-509.
History. Acts 1959, No. 254, § 21; 1961, No. 248, § 8; 1971, No. 131, § 5; 1973, No. 47, § 16; 1977, No. 493, § 12; 1979, No. 754, § 7; A.S.A. 1947, § 67-1255; Acts 1997, No. 173, § 3.
Meaning of “Arkansas Criminal Code”. See note to § 5-1-101.
Research References
Ark. L. Rev.
Note, Promissory Demand Notes: Investor Protection or Peril, Arthur Young & Co. v. Reves, 42 Ark. L. Rev. 1075.
Case Notes
Constitutionality.
Former act that provided for punishment of corporation by fine did not constitute cruel and inhuman punishment. Standard Home Co. v. Davis, 217 F. 904 (E.D. Ark. 1914) (decision under prior law).
Included Offenses.
Conviction of a person charged under subsection (a) of this section with violation of § 23-42-501, who defended on the ground that he had obtained an exemption for the security sold under § 23-42-504(a), was not sustained by evidence that the defendant sold the security to persons who were not on the list of offerees filed with the securities commissioner in compliance with a rule of the commissioner, such sales being violations only of subsection (b) of this section, which was not an included offense within subsection (a) of this section. Gaskin v. State, 244 Ark. 541, 426 S.W.2d 407 (1968).
Cited: Gaskin v. State, 248 Ark. 168, 450 S.W.2d 557 (1970); Lane v. Midwest Bancshares Corp., 337 F. Supp. 1200 (E.D. Ark. 1972); Hardcastle v. State, 25 Ark. App. 157, 755 S.W.2d 228 (1988).