§ 5109 — Penalties

(a) An individual or group violating section 5104(e)(1) of this title, or attempting to commit a violation, shall be fined under title 18, imprisoned for not more than five years, or both. (b) A person violating section 5103 or 5104(b), (c), (d), (e)(2), or (f) of this title, or attempting to commit a violation, shall be fined under title 18, imprisoned for not more than six months, or both. (1) An action for a violation of this chapter or section 9, 9A, 9B, 9C or 14 of the Act of July 31, 1946 (ch. 707, 60 Stat. 719, 720), including an attempt or a conspiracy to commit a violation, shall be brought by the Attorney General in the name of the United States. This chapter and sections 9, 9A, 9B, 9C and 14 do not supersede any provision of federal law or the laws of the District of Columbia. Where the conduct violating this chapter or section 9, 9A, 9B, 9C or 14 also violates federal law or the laws of the District of Columbia, both violations may be joined in a single action. (2) An action under this section for a violation of— (A) section 5104(e)(1) of this title or for conduct that constitutes a felony under federal law or the laws of the District of Columbia shall be brought in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia; and (B) any other section referred to in subsection (a) may be brought in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. (3) The penalty which may be imposed on a person convicted in an action under this subsection is the highest penalty authorized by any of the laws the defendant is convicted of violating.