(a) Any person failing, without just cause, to file any registration statement as required in this Article shall pay, after notice and hearing, a civil penalty of one hundred dollars ($100.00) for each day’s delay, not to exceed a total penalty of one thousand dollars ($1,000), to the Commissioner. The clear proceeds of civil penalties provided for in this section shall be remitted to the Civil Penalty and Forfeiture Fund in accordance with N.C. Gen. Stat. § 115C-457.2

(b) Every director or officer of an insurance holding company system who knowingly and willfully violates, participates in, or assents to, or who knowingly and willfully permits any of the officers or agents of the insurer to engage in transactions or make investments that have not been properly reported or submitted pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 58-19-25(a), 58-19-30(b), or 58-19-30(c), or that violate this Article, shall pay, in his individual capacity, after notice and hearing, a civil penalty of one hundred dollars ($100.00) per violation, not to exceed a total penalty of one thousand dollars ($1,000), to the Commissioner, who shall forward the clear proceeds to the General Fund of this State.

(c) Whenever it appears to the Commissioner that any insurer subject to this Article or any director, officer, employee, or agent thereof has engaged in any transaction or entered into a contract that is subject to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 58-19-30 and that would not have been approved had such approval been requested, the Commissioner may order the insurer to immediately cease and desist from any further activity under that transaction or contract. After notice and hearing the Commissioner may also order the insurer to void any such contracts and restore the status quo if such action is in the best interest of the policyholders, creditors, or the public.

(d) Whenever it appears to the Commissioner that any insurer or any director, officer, employee, or agent thereof has knowingly and willfully committed a violation of this Article, the Commissioner may cause criminal proceedings to be instituted by the Superior Court of Wake County against such insurer or the responsible director, officer, employee, or agent thereof. Any insurer that knowingly and willfully violates this Article may be fined not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000). Any individual who knowingly and willfully violates this Article is guilty of a Class I felony.

(e) Any officer, director, or employee of an insurance holding company system who knowingly and willfully subscribes to or makes or causes to be made any false statements or false reports or false filings with the intent to deceive the Commissioner in the performance of his duties under this Article, is guilty of a Class I felony. Any fines imposed shall be paid by the officer, director, or employee in his individual capacity.

(f) Whenever it appears to the Commissioner that any person has committed a violation of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 58-19-15, and which prevents the full understanding of the enterprise risk to the insurer by the affiliates or by the insurance holding company system, the violation may serve as an independent basis for disapproving dividends or distributions and for placing the insurer under an order of supervision in accordance with Article 30 of this Chapter. (1989, c. 722, s. 1; 1993, c. 504, s. 14; c. 539, ss. 1271, 1272; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c); 1998-215, s. 84; 2015-146, s. 1.9; 2015-281, s. 13.)