Any member of the Board or of the committees, or any officer, employee or agent of a cooperative and any person in charge of receiving, keeping, transferring or disbursing funds belonging to a cooperative who commits one or more of the following acts shall be sanctioned with imprisonment for a fixed jail term of eight (8) years:
(a) Without legal authority taking funds, in whole or in part, for his/her own benefit or the benefit of another person;
(b) lending the funds, in whole or in part, or speculating with them, or otherwise using the funds for any purpose that is not authorized by this chapter;
(c) not maintaining the funds in his/her custody until disbursing or delivering them pursuant to the authorizations established by law;
(d) illegal depositing the funds, in whole or in part, in any cooperative, bank or financial institution, or placing them under the power of another person;
(e) keeping any false accounts or making any false entries of said funds, or pertaining to said funds;
(f) altering, falsifying, concealing, destroying, or deleting any account or document pertaining to said funds;
(g) denying payment or failing to pay upon presentation any note, order or order of payment made by any competent authority against the funds in his/her power;
(h) failure to transfer the funds in cases in which by law or regulation such transfer is required;
(i) denying delivery or failure to deliver to any officer or to any other person authorized by law for its receipt, any amount of money that he/she is legally bound to deliver;
(j) exchanging or converting funds in coin, paper or any other legal tender or instrument without legal authority to do so, or
(k) negligence or failure to keep or disburse the funds in the manner established in this chapter or its regulations.
Any person who is not a member of the Board or of the committees, nor an executive officer, employee or agent of a cooperative who is guilty of committing one (1) or more of the acts forbidden in this section, regardless of whether or not said person obtained personal financial gains, he/she shall be sanctioned with the penalty established herein.
History —Sept. 1, 2004, No. 239, § 38.2.