NCJ Number
77699
Journal
Washington and Lee Law Review Volume: 37 Issue: 3 Dated: (Summer 1980) Pages: 739-781
Date Published
1980
Length
43 pages
Annotation
This article focuses on the provisions of the Uniform Securities Act which 35 jurisdictions have adopted in whole or substantial part; investigative and enforcement provisions of similar legislation are highlighted.
Abstract
The act provides three basic mechanisms for dealing with an actual or threatened violation of securities laws. First, the violator may face administrative sanctions imposed by the securities agency itself. Enforcement devices available through administrative action are the most varied yet limited of the three remedies. The most important device is the securities administrator's power under section 306 of the act to refuse the effectiveness of a registration sought or to suspend a registration which has become effective. The second major enforcement tool available to the administrator is the ability to bring suit for civil injunction under section 408 of the act. Such actions can prevent further violation of the act or force compliance with the act when there is a threatened violation. All parts of the act are subject to injunctive enforcement. The last of the three enforcement tools is criminal prosecution under section 409 of the act. That section makes it a felony, punishable by up to a $5,000 fine and 3 years in prison, to willfully violate any provision of the act other than section 404. Nonregistration of securities, for example, is an easy criminal case to prove under this provision. The most difficult criminal prosecution under the act is that for securities fraud. The article includes 216 footnotes.