West Virginia Code 51-10A-5 – Unauthorized acts; penalties
(a) A person who willfully violates any provision of section four of this article, or who acts as a bail bond enforcer within this state without filing a registration, authorization or notice required by this article, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $500 or more than $10,000, or imprisoned in the county jail not more than sixty days, or both fined and imprisoned.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 51-10A-5
- Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
- Bail bond enforcer: means a person who on behalf of a bail bondsman enters this state or is present in this state for the purposes of: (1) Assisting a bail bondsman in presenting the defendant in court when required. See West Virginia Code 51-10A-1
- bail bondsman: includes , but is not limited to, persons conducting a bonding business as defined in section one, article ten of this chapter. See West Virginia Code 51-10A-1
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
(b) A bail bondsman who, without filing the authorization required in this article, employs or contracts with a bail bond enforcer who enters this state or acts on the bondsman's behalf within this state; who authorizes an unregistered bail bond enforcer to act on his or her behalf; or whose agent acts in a manner prohibited in section four of this article, is subject to a civil penalty of $10,000, enforceable by civil action in the circuit court of Kanawha County or the circuit court of any county in which the unauthorized action as a bail bond enforcer has occurred. The superintendent of the West Virginia state police is authorized to enforce payment of civil penalties through the courts of this state. Civil penalties pursuant to this section are payable one-half to the State Police Death, Disability and Retirement Fund and one-half to the crime victims compensation fund.