Fines are a punishment imposed as a sentence by a judge. The plaintiff may have broken rules, but only the judicial branch is permitted to judge when you have b

Fines are a punishment imposed as a sentence by a judge. The plaintiff may have broken rules, but only the judicial branch is permitted to judge when you have broken the rules. When the administrative branch seems to be creating rules or imposing fines, it is actually an elaborate act of prosecutorial discretion, unless Congress has specifically permitted it to do so, unless the permission is unconstitutionally broad. Just because the guy broke the rules doesn't make it unimportant if the government is ignoring procedure and justifying itself doing so with totally nonsense arguments (which it may or may not be doing, IANAL).