2023 Delaware Code › Title 6 - Commerce and Trade › Chapter 24A. DEBT-MANAGEMENT SERVICES › § 2433A. Administrative remedies.

§ 2433A. Administrative remedies.
(a) In addition to any other enforcement method specified in this Code, the Attorney General may enforce this chapter and the rules adopted under this chapter by taking one or more of the following actions:
(1) Ordering a provider or a director, employee, or other agent of a provider to cease and desist from any violations;
(2) Ordering a provider or a person that has caused a violation to correct the violation, including making restitution of money or property to a person aggrieved by a violation;
(3) Imposing on a provider or a person that has caused a violation a civil penalty not exceeding $50,000 for each violation;
(4) Prosecuting a civil action to:
(A) Enforce an order; or
(B) Obtain restitution or an injunction or other equitable relief, or both;
(5) Intervening in an action brought under § 2435A of this title.
(b) If a person violates or knowingly authorizes, directs, or aids in the violation of a final order issued under paragraph (a)(1) or (a)(2) of this section, the Attorney General may impose a civil penalty not exceeding $75,000 for each violation.
(c) In determining the amount of a civil penalty to impose under subsection (a) or (b) of this section, the Attorney General shall consider the seriousness of the violation, the good faith of the violator, any previous violations by the violator, the deleterious effect of the violation on the public, the net worth of the violator, and any other factor the Attorney General considers relevant to the determination of the civil penalty.
(d) Any civil penalty imposed under subsection (a) or (b) of this section shall be paid to the State Treasurer for deposit in the General Fund.
(e) Service of any notice or order issued pursuant to paragraph (a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(3) or subsection (b) of this section may be effected in any manner that is allowed for service of a complaint in the Superior Court of this State.
(f) The Attorney General may recover from the violator all reasonable costs of enforcing this chapter under subsections (a) and (b) of this section, including attorney's fees based on the hours reasonably expended and the hourly rates for attorneys of comparable experience in the community, and also including the compensation of all employees of the Attorney General's office based on the time they reasonably expended on the matter.
(g) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (g)(2) of this section, an order issued under paragraph (a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(3), or subsection (b) of this section shall not become effective less than 10 days after the order is served. After an order is served, but before its effective date, any interested party may petition the Attorney General for a hearing. At the conclusion of such hearing, the Attorney General may affirm the order as originally issued, or modify, amend or rescind the order.
(2) Whenever in the opinion of the Attorney General, the violation that is the subject of an order under paragraph (a)(1) or (a)(2) of this section represents an immediate danger or substantial harm to the interests of any person aggrieved by a violation or the public, or where such violation or its continuance is likely to cause insolvency or substantial dissipation of the assets of a provider, the Attorney General may issue an order which shall become effective immediately upon service, without prior notice or hearing. Upon application of any interested party, the Attorney General shall afford an opportunity for a hearing to consider rescission of that order or any action taken promptly thereafter.
(3) Upon receipt of a hearing request, the Attorney General shall conduct a proceeding pursuant to subchapter III of the Delaware Administrative Procedures Act, Chapter 101 of Title 29. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code, any final order under this section will be a public record.
75 Del. Laws, c. 430, §  1;