1. The Commissioner may refuse to license any escrow agent or agency or may suspend, revoke or place conditions upon any license or impose a fine on any person of not more than $25,000 for each violation by entering an order to that effect, with the Commissioner’s findings in respect thereto, if upon a hearing, it is determined that the applicant, licensee or person:
(a) In the case of an escrow agency, is insolvent;
(b) Has violated any provision of this chapter, any regulation adopted pursuant thereto or an order of the Commissioner or has aided and abetted another to do so;
(c) In the case of an escrow agency, is in such a financial condition that he or she cannot continue in business with safety to his or her customers;
(d) Has committed fraud in connection with any transaction governed by this chapter;
(e) Has intentionally or knowingly made any misrepresentation or false statement to, or concealed any essential or material fact from, any principal or designated agent of a principal in the course of the escrow business;
(f) Has intentionally or knowingly made or caused to be made to the Commissioner any false representation of a material fact or has suppressed or withheld from the Commissioner any information which the applicant, licensee or person possesses;
(g) Has failed without reasonable cause to furnish to the parties of an escrow their respective statements of the settlement within a reasonable time after the close of escrow;
(h) Has failed without reasonable cause to deliver, within a reasonable time after the close of escrow, to the respective parties of an escrow transaction any money, documents or other properties held in escrow in violation of the provisions of the escrow instructions;
(i) Has refused to permit an examination by the Commissioner of his or her books and affairs or has refused or failed, within a reasonable time, to furnish any information or make any report that may be required by the Commissioner pursuant to the provisions of this chapter;
(j) Has been convicted of, entered or agreed to enter a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to, a felony relating to the practice of escrow agents or agencies or any felony or misdemeanor of which an essential element is an act of fraud, dishonesty or a breach of trust, moral turpitude or money laundering;
(k) In the case of an escrow agency, has failed to maintain complete and accurate records of all transactions within the last 6 years;
(l) Has commingled the money of others with his or her own or converted the money of others to his or her own use;
(m) Has failed, before the close of escrow, to obtain written escrow instructions concerning any essential or material fact or intentionally failed to follow the written instructions which have been agreed upon by the parties and accepted by the holder of the escrow;
(n) Has failed to disclose in writing that he or she is acting in the dual capacity of escrow agent or agency and undisclosed principal in any transaction;
(o) In the case of an escrow agency, has:
(1) Failed to maintain adequate supervision of an escrow agent; or
(2) Instructed an escrow agent to commit an act which would be cause for the revocation of the escrow agent’s license and the escrow agent committed the act. An escrow agent is not subject to disciplinary action by the Commissioner for committing such an act under instruction by the escrow agency;
(p) In the case of an escrow agency, if the applicant or licensee is a partnership, corporation or unincorporated association, has a member of the partnership or an officer or director of the corporation or unincorporated association who has been convicted of, entered or agreed to enter a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to, a felony in a domestic, foreign or military court relating to the practice of escrow agents or agencies, or any felony or misdemeanor of which an essential element is an act of fraud, dishonesty or a breach of trust, moral turpitude or money laundering; or
(q) In the case of a person who performs the services of a construction control, has failed to comply with the provisions of chapter 627 of NRS.
2. It is sufficient cause for the imposition of a fine or the refusal, suspension or revocation of, or the placement of conditions upon, the license of a partnership, corporation or any other association that any member of the partnership or any officer or director of the corporation or association has been guilty of any act or omission which would be cause for such action had the applicant or licensee been a natural person.
3. The Commissioner may suspend any license for not more than 30 days, pending a hearing, if upon examination into the affairs of the licensee it is determined that any of the grounds enumerated in subsection 1 or 2 exist.
4. The Commissioner may refuse to issue a license to any person who, within 10 years before the date of applying for a current license, has had suspended or revoked a license issued pursuant to this chapter or a comparable license issued by any other state, district or territory of the United States or any foreign country.
5. An order that imposes discipline and the findings of fact and conclusions of law supporting that order are public records.
(Added to NRS by 1973, 1308; A 1985, 1813; 1991, 1852; 1993, 505; 2003, 2719, 3467; 2009, 742; 2011, 3600)