2023 New York Laws › RPP - Real Property › Article 12-A - Real Estate Brokers and Real Estate Salespersons › 442-E - Violations.

§  442-e.  Violations.  1.  Misdemeanors;  triable in court of special
  sessions. Any person who violates any provision of this article shall be
  guilty of a misdemeanor. The commission of a single  act  prohibited  by
  this  article shall constitute a violation hereof. All courts of special
  sessions, within their respective territorial jurisdictions, are  hereby
  empowered  to  hear,  try and determine such crimes, without indictment,
  and to impose the punishments prescribed by law therefor.
2. Attorney general to prosecute. Criminal actions for  violations  of
  this article shall be prosecuted by the attorney general, or his deputy,
  in  the name of the people of the state, and in any such prosecution the
  attorney general, or his deputy,  shall  exercise  all  the  powers  and
  perform  all  the  duties which the district attorney would otherwise be
  authorized to exercise or  to  perform  therein.  The  attorney  general
  shall,  upon  a  conviction  for  a  violation  of any provision of this
  article, and  within  ten  days  thereafter,  make  and  file  with  the
  department  of  state  a  detailed  report  showing  the  date  of  such
  conviction, the name of the person convicted and the exact nature of the
  charge.
3. Penalty recoverable by person aggrieved. In case the offender shall
  have received any sum of money as commission, compensation or profit  by
  or  in consequence of his violation of any provision of this article, he
  shall also be liable to a penalty of not less than the amount of the sum
  of money received by him as such commission, compensation or profit  and
  not  more  than  four  times  the  sum  so  received  by  him, as may be
  determined by the court, which penalty may be sued for and recovered  by
  any  person  aggrieved  and  for  his  use  and benefit, in any court of
  competent jurisdiction.
4. In  any  prosecution  under  this  article,  any  person,  firm  or
  corporation  who, for another, performs or offers to perform or attempts
  or offers to attempt, the performance of any one of the acts  set  forth
  in  section  four hundred forty of this article, shall be presumed to do
  so for a fee, commission  or  other  valuable  consideration,  but  such
  presumption  shall  not  arise  out of a single transaction, except upon
  proof of repeated and successive acts, offers  or  attempts  of  a  like
  nature.
5.  The  secretary  of  state  shall  have  the  power  to enforce the
  provisions of this article and upon complaint of any person, or on their
  own initiative, to investigate any violation thereof or  to  investigate
  the  business,  business  practices  and business methods of any person,
  firm or corporation applying for or holding a license as a  real  estate
  broker  or salesperson, if in the opinion of the secretary of state such
  investigation is warranted. Each such applicant  or  licensee  shall  be
  obliged,   on  request  of  the  secretary  of  state,  to  supply  such
  information as  may  be  required  concerning  their  or  its  business,
  business  practices  or business methods, or proposed business practices
  or methods.
6. For the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this article and  in
  making  investigations  relating  to  any violation thereof, and for the
  purpose of investigating the character, competency and integrity of  the
  applicants  or licensees hereunder, and for the purpose of investigating
  the business, business practices and business methods of  any  applicant
  or  licensee,  or  of  the officers or agents thereof, the department of
  state, acting by such  officer  or  person  in  the  department  as  the
  secretary  of  state may designate, shall have the power to subpoena and
  bring before the officer or person so  designated  any  person  in  this
  state  and  require the production of any books or papers which he deems
  relevant to the inquiry and administer an oath to and take testimony  of
  any  person  or  cause his deposition to be taken with the same fees and

  mileage and in the same manner as prescribed by law for civil cases in a
  court of record, except that any applicant or  licensee  or  officer  or
  agent  thereof  shall  not  be entitled to such fees and/or mileage. Any
  person,  duly  subpoenaed,  who  fails  to  obey  such  subpoena without
  reasonable cause or without such cause refuses  to  be  examined  or  to
  answer   any  legal  or  pertinent  question  as  to  the  character  or
  qualification of such applicant  or  licensee  or  such  applicant's  or
  licensee's  business, business practices and methods or such violations,
  shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
7. In any criminal proceeding before any court or grand jury, or  upon
  any  investigation before the department of state for a violation of any
  of the provisions of this section, the  court  or  grand  jury,  or  the
  secretary   of  state,  his  deputy  or  other  officer  conducting  the
  investigation, may confer immunity, in accordance with the provisions of
  section 50.20 or 190.40 of the criminal procedure law.
8. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, with respect  to
  violations  of  section  four  hundred  forty-two-h of this article, the
  secretary of state is authorized, upon the complaint of any person or on
  his or her own initiative, to investigate and  prosecute  violations  of
  the  provisions of such section by persons not licensed pursuant to this
  article and may impose a fine not exceeding one  hundred  fifty  dollars
  for the first violation, not exceeding five hundred dollars for a second
  violation,  and  not exceeding one thousand dollars for a third and each
  subsequent violation. The attorney general,  acting  on  behalf  of  the
  secretary  of  state, may commence an action or proceeding in a court of
  competent jurisdiction to obtain  a  judgment  against  such  unlicensed
  person in an amount equal to that imposed as a fine.