One argument is that because the Act throughout either exempts, or otherwise has no application to, out-of-state banks, this Court should conclude that the Georgia legislature also intended to exempt out-of-state banks from liability as an aider-and-abettor of the payday stores’ violations of the Act
Any person who violates subsection (a) or (b) of this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than one year or by a fine not to exceed $5, or both. Any person who aids or abets such a violation, including any arbiter or arbitration company, shall likewise be guilty of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature and shall be punished as set forth in this subsection. If https://www.paydayloansohio.net/cities/hartville/ a person has been convicted of violations of subsection (a) or (b) of this Code section on three prior occasions, then all subsequent convictions shall be considered felonies punishable by a fine of $10, or five years imprisonment or both.
The parties do not dispute that penalties for any direct violation of the Act do not apply to out-of-state banks. Subsection (d) of § 16-17-2 begins with the language that ” [a]ny person who violates subsection (a) or (b) . shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. ” Id. § 16-17-2(d). Because out-of-state banks are exempt from liability under subsections (a) and (b), an out-of-state bank is not “any person” who can violate subsection (a) or (b).