There are serious repercussions for not following the CMS guidelines. If CMS receives complaints about potential violations, it will contact the agency that is the subject of the complaint and require that the problem be alleviated—which may result in termination for the individual violator. However, the agency itself may also face larger penalties, whether because of an individual employee action or a larger-scale violation. These penalties can range anywhere from civil monetary penalties to criminal charges to suspension of all marketing activities.