(a) If either party, before settlement, shall dispose of or appropriate any of the things set forth in § 18-42-105 without the consent of the other so as to defraud him or her of the amount due, that party shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction may be fined not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100) and confined in the county jail not less than one (1) month nor more than six (6) months.
(b) Nothing in this section shall be so construed as forbidding the laborer from mortgaging so much of his or her crop for necessary supplies as may be equal to his or her interest therein at the time, if the employer having contracted to furnish the supplies fails or refuses to do so.