V.I. Code tit. 27, § 444 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 27 - Professions and Occupations|Chapter 16 - Real Estate Appraisers|§ 444. Penalties; hearings; other duties of Board

 (a) In accordance with the hearing procedures established for contested cases by the Board, the Board shall have the power to reprimand appraisers and approve education classes; to revoke or suspend any license or certification issued under this chapter; to revoke or suspend approval of any school; to impose a fine not to exceed $1,000.00 for each violation of this chapter or its rules and regulations with fines for multiple violations limited to $5,000.00 in any one hearing; to require completion of a course of study in real estate appraisal or instruction; or to utilize any combination of these sanctions which the Board may deem appropriate whenever an appraiser or an approved school has been found guilty of a violation of this chapter, or the rules and regulations promulgated by the Board, or of any standard of conduct, including, but not limited to, the following acts or omissions: (1) performing any real estate appraisal activity or specialized services which indicate any preference, limitation, or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin or an intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination; (2) an act or omission involving dishonesty, fraud, or misrepresentation with the intent to benefit substantially an appraiser or another person or with the intent to injure substantially another person; (3) commission of any act of fraud, misrepresentation or deceit in the making of an appraisal of real estate for which act a final civil or criminal judgment has been rendered; (4) engaging in real estate appraisal activity under an assumed or fictitious name not properly registered in the state or territory; (5) paying a finder's fee or a referral fee to a person who is not an appraiser in connection with an appraisal of real estate or real property; (6) making a false or misleading statement in that portion of a written appraisal report that deals with professional qualifications or in any testimony concerning professional qualifications; (7) violation of the confidential nature of governmental records to which an appraiser gained access through employment or engagement as an appraiser by a governmental agency; (8) violation of any of the standards for the development of communication of real estate appraisals as promulgated by the Board; (9) failure or refusal without good cause to exercise reasonable diligence in developing an appraisal, preparing an appraisal report, or communicating an appraisal; (10) negligence or incompetence in developing an appraisal, in preparing an appraisal report, or in communicating an appraisal; (11) accepting an independent appraisal assignment when the employment itself is contingent upon the appraiser's reporting a predetermined estimate, analysis, or valuation reached or upon the consequences resulting from the appraisal assignment; (12) failure to retain for a period of five years the original or a true copy of each appraisal report prepared or signed by the appraiser and all supporting data assembled and formulated by the appraiser in preparing each such appraisal report. The five-year period for retention of records is applicable to each engagement of the services of the appraiser and shall commence upon the date of the delivery of each appraisal report to the client unless, within such five-year period, the appraiser is notified that the appraisal or the appraisal report is involved in litigation, in which event the five-year period for the retention of records shall commence upon the date of the final disposition of such litigation; (13) failure upon reasonable request of an appraiser to make all records required to be maintained under the provisions of this chapter available to the Board for inspection and copying by the Board; (14) performing any appraisal beyond the scope of authority granted in the license or certification held; (15) demonstrating incompetency to act as an appraiser in such a manner as to safeguard the interests of the public or any other conduct, whether of the same or a different character than specified in this subsection, which constitutes dishonest dealing; or (16) performing or attempting to perform any real estate appraisal activity on property located in another state or territory without first having complied fully with that state's or territory's laws regarding real estate appraisal activity. (b) In a disciplinary proceeding based upon a civil judgment, an appraiser shall be afforded an opportunity to present matters in mitigation and extenuation but may not collaterally attack the civil judgment. (c) When an appraiser has previously been disciplined by the Board or by any other state's or territory's real estate appraiser licensing authority, the Board may consider prior disciplinary actions in determining the severity of a new disciplinary action which may be imposed upon a finding that an appraiser has violated any provision of this chapter or any of the rules and regulations of the Board. Failure of an appraiser to comply with or to obey a final order of the Board may be cause for suspension or revocation of the individual's license or certification after opportunity for a hearing.