(a) Whenever it appears to the department that any person has engaged or is about to engage in any act or practice constituting a violation of any provision of this act or any rule or order hereunder, it may in its discretion bring an action in the name of the people of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the Commonwealth Court or in any of the several courts of common pleas to enjoin, through a preliminary or permanent injunction, temporary restraining order or writ of mandamus, the acts or practices or to enforce compliance with this act or any rule or order hereunder. The department also may seek and the court upon proper showing shall grant such other ancillary and equitable relief as the facts warrant, including, without limitation, appointment of a receiver, temporary receiver or conservator of the defendant's assets, a freeze of the defendant's assets, obtaining of an accounting, orders of rescission, orders of restitution, orders of disgorgement or other relief as may be appropriate in the public interest. The court shall not require the department to meet the criteria for an equitable injunction in order for the court to grant an injunction, restraining order or writ of mandamus. The court shall not require the department to post a bond.

(b) The department may, with the approval of the Attorney General, include in any action authorized by subsection (a) a claim for damages under section 501, 502 or 503¹ on behalf of the persons injured by the act or practice constituting the subject matter of the action, and the court shall have jurisdiction to award appropriate relief to such persons, if the court finds that enforcement of the rights of such persons by private civil action, whether by class action or otherwise, would be so burdensome or expensive as to be impractical.

(c) Any person violating any (i) stop order issued under section 208,² (ii) cease advertising order issued under section 606(c),³ (iii) cease and desist order issued under section 606(c.1), (iv) order of the department requiring a rescission pursuant to section 513,⁴ (v) order of the department imposing any bar described in section 512,⁵ (vi) order of the department requiring return of sales compensation under section 514(a)⁶ or (vii) any order of the department imposing an administrative assessment under section 602.1(b) or (c)⁷ from which no appeal of such an order has been taken pursuant to section 607(d)⁸ of the act or which has been sustained on appeal, or which has been appealed but where no supersedeas has been granted for the period during which the order has been violated, shall be deemed to be in contempt of such order. Upon petition and certification of such order by the department, the Commonwealth Court or any of the courts of common pleas if it finds after hearing or otherwise that the person is not in compliance with the order shall adjudge the person in contempt of the order and shall assess such civil penalties of an amount not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000) nor greater than fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) per violation and grant such equitable relief as it may deem appropriate.

(d) If the department provides work product or services to a receiver, trustee or conservator appointed by a court pursuant to subsection (a), the court, upon petition by the department for reimbursement of costs for providing such work product or services, may award the department reimbursement of all direct costs incurred in providing the work product or services to the receiver, trustee or conservator as well as a pro rata portion of salaries of department staff who were involved in providing the work product or services. This award may be made from funds recovered by and under the control of the receiver, trustee or conservator who holds the funds for the benefit of investors, provided that the award may not exceed ten per cent of the funds held. Reimbursements received by the department under this subsection shall be treated as moneys received under section 602.1.