Increases the fines imposed on a corporation for an offense defined within the penal law

Higher fines for convicted corporations

Effective immediately upon enactment, the law raises court-set fine limits for corporations convicted of covered offenses. It covers Penal Law offenses and offenses outside that law when no special corporate fine applies. The standard maximums are $80,000 for felonies, $40,000 for class A misdemeanors, $15,000 for class B misdemeanors, and $4,000 for violations. Unclassified misdemeanors carry a $40,000 cap when authorized jail time exceeds three months; otherwise, the cap is $15,000. For convictions under Penal Law §20.20(2)(c)(iv), the felony cap is $500,000 and the class A or longer-term unclassified misdemeanor cap is $300,000. Courts can instead impose higher fines up to three times the corporation’s gain from the offense, up from twice its gain. The three-times-gain limit also applies to higher fines for offenses under Penal Law article 496.