'Grandma, I'm in jail and need bail money' scam targets seniors

In recent weeks, Yavapai Sheriff's deputies took two reports of a telephone fraud targeting seniors. A caller contacts an older person claiming to be his or her grandson and shares a believable story of an involvement in an accident or criminal incident in Canada and subsequent arrest. The "grandson" asks for money to post bail and then puts a person on the line, supposedly a bail bondsman. The bondsman provides the bail amount, usually several thousand dollars, and requests that money be wired using a MoneyGram or Western Union service. In some cases the bogus "bondsman," even calls back to thank the victim.

Both Yavapai County victims were suspicious and did not send any money.

This scam appeals to the emotions the elderly who feel an immediate need to help a desperate family member. Stories range from an accident to a situation in which the "grandson" picked up a couple of hitchhikers found with drugs during a traffic stop.

Many suspects use social networking sites, such as MySpace or Facebook, to identify family members through profiles and photos. A check of online phone directories provides a telephone number and the scam is under way. In some cases, suspects find travel plans and give specific family information that makes the scheme more plausible.

Read more here

Bail Bondsmen Accused of Thugish Behavior

Bail bondsmen dressed in "police SWAT gear" terrorized patrons of a swinger's club by holding them at gunpoint while they beat a man they thought had skipped bail, then threatened a newspaper editor who wrote about it, four people and the business claim in Clark County Court.

Read more here.

Bondsmen Make it Cheaper to Get Out of Jail

Bail bond agents are increasingly helping cash-strapped defendants get out of jail with ultra-cheap financing deals, a practice that worries law enforcement officials and insurers, and could endanger public safety.

To bolster their businesses during the recession, a growing number of bondsmen nationwide are requiring upfront payments that are only a fraction of the customary 10 percent premium amount - sometimes with no collateral. In exchange, the accused agree to make up the difference on credit cards or monthly installment plans.

South Carolina Bondsman Gives Interview About His Duties

Jimmy Robinson's family has been in the bail bond business for 34 years. Robinson says it's rare for defendants on bail to run.

"It's not necessarily they're gonna flee the state," Robinson said. "They just go into hiding and they figure if they put their head in the ground and hide, it will go away."

Robinson says when he's hired to post bond, it's also his job to keep tabs on the defendant.

"It is the responsibility of the bonding company to make sure he lives where he says he's living, that he's working where he's supposed to be working, and that he appears in court," he said.

If the defendant doesn't appear in court, Robinson can lose a lot of cash.

"If it is a $50,000 bond, you stand to lose $50,000," he warned.

If one of the Robinson's clients jumps bail or fails to appear in court, they're licensed to go after them, arrest them and bring them back to jail.

"If you don't show up, you flee and that bond is forfeited, I'm gonna pay the money," Robinson said. "But I'm gonna go after your family, so it's a kind of locked in protection with us."

Robinson says he gets written reminders from the solicitor's office about court dates.

"They're kind enough to give us notice. They're not required to do it, but they do it," he said.

Still that doesn't guarantee a defendant will come to court. If that's the case, Robinson and his sons will be ready for action.

Felon Flees, Leaves Family In Bind

James Sanford and his lawyer were outside the St. Clair County Courthouse in Port Huron when they were notified a jury had reached a verdict on drug and weapons charges Sanford faced.

Sanford and Mike West, the lawyer, took an elevator up to the courthouse's third floor. When they got out, Sanford told West he had to use the restroom.

West said he told Sanford to inform court officials, which he did, and he was granted permission to visit the restroom. Then he left for the bathroom.

"That is pretty much the last we saw of him," West said.

The jury found Sanford guilty of six charges -- including manufacturing and delivering a controlled substance and possessing a firearm while committing a felony. But no one can find Sanford.

"He just plain walked out of the court like nobody saw him walk out," Wayne Lepiors, Sanford's brother-in-law, said about the Sept. 26 incident.

Padilla Questions Decision to Post Casey Anthony's Bond

Bounty hunter Leonard Padilla now questions his decision to bail Casey Anthony out of jail.

On Tuesday night, he told CNN's Nancy Grace he doesn't think he would have posted the $500,000 bond for her freedom if he had read newly-released documents beforehand.

He told Grace, "After reading it, I don't believe I would have talked my nephew Tony Padilla into posting the bond. And I don't think I would have come to Orlando after reading that. I
mean, I'm still hoping that little girl's alive, but there's a lot of information in those 400 pages that would lead those people to believe something different."

The documents paint an unflattering picture of the Orlando mother. Some of the most negative opinions of Anthony come from her own family and friends. Anthony's mother Cindy called her daughter a "sociopath".

In a written statement to police, Anthony's father said she was very vague when he asked about his granddaughter, Caylee, saying:

"Each time we have asked to see her... my daughter would always have a different answer."

Bail Fund Drive Begins

Some illegal immigrants arrested in workplace raids by federal agents will now have a resource to help them post bond and have a day in court.

The National Immigrant Bond Fund will launch a fundraising campaign and make its national debut during a news conference at Casa de Maryland in Silver Spring on Monday. The immigrant advocacy group helped workers seized in a recent federal raid in Annapolis access the bond fund, which was formalized about three months ago.

Here's how the fund works: Illegal immigrants arrested in raids who do not have any outstanding criminal violations can apply for financial assistance. Churches, legal organizations or groups such as Casa help facilitate their requests. The fund provides half the bail money and immigrants must pony up the rest.

"The chance of somebody in essence absconding is by and large eliminated because they have their money invested in their freedom as well," said Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum in Washington and a member of the fund's committee.

The fund aims to ensure that immigrants have access to the court system. Advocates say immigrants are too often sent directly into deportation proceedings without an opportunity to argue their case. They say the fund is also a way to build public opposition to raids, keep families together and bring another voice into the debate for immigration reform.

Financial oversight of the fund is handled by Public Interest Projects, a New York-based nonprofit.

The fund grew out of a series of efforts by 57-year-old Boston financier Bob Hildreth, owner of International Bank Services Inc., which buys and sells loans worldwide.

Hildreth said he gave $130,000 last year to help detainees post bond after a raid at a New Bedford, Mass., factory by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. The detainees' families pitched in $100,000.

Hildreth contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars more this year after following workplace raids, including one on June 30 at Annapolis Painting Services company, where federal officials arrested 45 employees on administrative immigration violations.

The financier studied Spanish in Mexico as a college student, and over the decades he has contributed millions to establish education and citizenship programs for immigrants in Massachusetts, among other initiatives.

Through the bond fund, Hildreth said he wants to reach out to those who support humanitarian and immigration rights and who believe, like him, that immigrants have long contributed to America's economic health.

"As long as these raids occur, we will respond," he said.

Former Corporation Bigwig Has Trouble Finding Bondsman

The former head of the Ketchum Community Development Corporation remained incarcerated this morning in the Blaine County Jail, unable to raise the $150,000 bond he needs to get out of jail.

"The bond is so high that any bail bondsmen would need property for security," said Melissa Roemer, an agent for Hometown Bail Bonds in Hailey. "It's my understanding that the couple personally doesn't own any."

Fifty-year-old Gary Rapport, who resigned as executive director of the CDC on Tuesday and was arrested later that day on a California warrant alleging failure to appear on a 2002 felony burglary charge, was arraigned on a fugitive from justice charge Wednesday afternoon in Blaine County Magistrate Court.

Public defender Kevin Cassidy, who was appointed to represent Rapport, told the court that his client will fight extradition to Orange County.

Judge Mark Ingram scheduled an identity hearing for July 17 and said he will reconsider bond at that time.

Roemer and Rick Filkins, president of American Eagle Bail Bonds in Ketchum, attended Rapport's court hearing on Wednesday but neither was willing to put $150,000 at risk.

Rapport's wife Yanti Ibrahim was contacting bail bondsmen throughout the area this morning in an attempt to get her husband out of jail.

Rapport and Ibrahim, who is from Indonesia, have three children at home ages 3, 9 and 12. Rapport reported in his request for a public defender that the couple pays $1,475 rent per month at their home in Ketchum. He further reported that he made $30,000 last year and owes $9,000 in Bozeman, Mont., for heart surgery. Rapport was reportedly earning a six-digit salary as head of the CDC. He had served as full-time executive director of the organization since May.

Ketchum police have alleged that Rapport was aware of the California warrant prior to his arrest at his home on Tuesday evening.

In addition to the Orange County warrant, Rapport also faces a 2007 aggravated assault charge in Bozeman for allegedly strangling his wife until she lost consciousness. Rapport lived in Bozeman prior to moving to Ketchum.

Bail on Wheels

Bail Busters Bail Bonding LLC is busting out with a new office on wheels as part of a small public relations project to inform the community about the business of bail bonding.

This week, the business debuted its mobile response unit — an unusually painted black and red, full-size, half-ton conversion E-150 Ford van — equipped with 18-inch rims with low profile tires and a stereo system provided by Audio One in Clarksville. The paint job was by House of Customs in Trenton, Ky.

Jeff Moorhead, partner and lead fugitive recovery person at Bail Busters, said the office on wheels replaces the office at 10 Main St. and makes it easier to take care of all bail bonding needs.

The mobile response unit includes computers with mobile Internet, full function printers, all paperwork and a high-tech stereo system.

"We found we could respond better throughout the day and night using a mobile response unit," Moorhead said.

"It's a one-stop shop for entertainment, work and bounty hunting. ... It will take care of all our needs and customers' needs.

"I like to call it the new era of bail bonding."

The business bought the van in January and had it remodeled and repainted for high visibility.

Moorhead said the company plans to feature the van in city parades and will have a "Bail Bunnies" spokesmodel team.

The van will serve as an advertisement and a open door for public relations, he added.

"People have misconceptions about bail bondsmen and bounty hunters," Moorhead said. "We want to get rid of that misconception and let people know as a whole, bail bondsmen are good people. We want to dispel the myths and let people know we are out there to help them."

Bail Busters opened for business in October 2007.

Moorhead, who served in the Army for 12 years, and his wife, Tiana "Chantel" Moorhead, who dealt in insurance and banking, mixed their skills to start the business.

The company contracts with people who have been jailed so they can make bond.

The business also assures the court defendants will appear for their court date.

"My wife and I wanted to work for ourselves," Moorhead said. "We looked at how we can have a good job, take care of our family and help people on a daily basis. ... It comes down to we want to help people."

He said the new mobile response unit will give them the resources they need to make their jobs easier.

"Everyone will know Bail Busters Bail Bond, and there will be no mistaking where we are, who we are and what we do," Moorhead said. "It'll help in advertising, public relations and people will be able to stop us and ask questions."

Moorhead said the business' motto is "Who you gonna call," and with the new Mobile Response Unit rolling around town, advertising that question will be easy to answer.

Car Crashes Creates New Question About Bonds for Illegal Immigrants

People are asking questions about why an illegal immigrant who was charged with killing a Spanish Fork man in a car wreck was allowed to make bail, and the answers differ depending on who is giving them.

Utah County Sheriff Jim Tracy said Immigration and Customs Enforcement declined to investigate the immigration status of 21-year-old Gabriel Hernandez, while ICE officials say they were not properly informed of his arrest. Tracy said internal jail documents show that jail officials made two calls to the ICE office in Orem before Hernandez was released on bail.

Hernandez, of Orem, was arrested by Spanish Fork police on Jan. 31 and booked into the Utah County Jail on a charge of negligent homicide, a Class A misdemeanor. Police said he lost control of his car on an icy road and slid into 83-year-old Albert Burns, killing him. Hernandez was also charged with driving on a denied license and driving with no insurance.

On Thursday, Hernandez missed his arraignment at Spanish Fork's 4th District Court, and a no-bail warrant was issued for his arrest. Burns's wife fears that Hernandez fled to his native Mexico and will never face justice.

In a report, Diana Carrasco, a booking clerk at the Utah County Jail, said she made two calls to the ICE office in Orem asking if the agency wanted the jail to put an immigration hold on Hernandez so they could investigate his immigration status. She made the first call when Hernandez was booked into the jail and the other about an hour later as his mother was paying his bail, she wrote. The clerk also wrote that she faxed a booking report to the ICE office.

Because the charges against Hernandez were misdemeanors and because he had no history with ICE, the agent said "to go ahead and let him post bail and that they would watch for him to go to court. If he was convicted of the charges then they would place a hold on him," Carrasco wrote.

In another report, Deputy Trish Dawe said she spoke to Carrasco a few days later and asked whether she had faxed the booking report to the ICE office.

"She told me that during her discussion about this individual that '[The agent] did not have time to come down and interview [and] to let him go,' " Dawe wrote.

ICE spokeswoman Lori Haley said the agency was not made aware of Hernandez's arrest in a timely fashion. Haley said ICE agents attended the arraignment that Hernandez missed, and went to his apartment in Orem, which had been vacated.

"We weren't able to determine his alienage without interviewing him and obtaining the biographical information that we need," she said on Tuesday.

Haley also said that ICE's primary goal is to remove illegal aliens from the United States, not to assist local law enforcement with prosecutions. When it orders immigration holds on inmates, ICE prioritizes the "worst of the worst," Haley said, including violent offenders and suspects with terrorism connections.

"When ICE takes custody or places a detainer on an individual, it's to initiate removal proceedings," Haley said.

But had ICE been made aware of Hernandez's arrest and charges in time, Haley said the agency would have placed a hold on him so it could have investigated his immigration status.

Tracy said ICE agents had told the jail numerous times in the past that they usually only order holds on inmates who are facing aggravated or felony charges, who have a felony conviction on their records or who have been deported in the past.

Since no ICE hold was ordered for Hernandez, he was allowed to make bail. The $2,300 bail, $230 of which Hernandez had to pay for his release, was determined by a bail schedule established by the state.

Jail officials suspected that Hernandez may have been in the country illegally, but without an ICE hold, they had no grounds to deny him the same bail granted to anyone else, Tracy said. If they had, he said, it would have constituted a federal civil rights violation.

"We don't set that bail, and he has due process rights, and so if he can make the bail and he has no other holds, no other warrants ... he's going to be allowed to bail out," Tracy said.

Tracy said the jail has no way to verify immigration status on its own and has no authority to hold suspected or confirmed illegal aliens on immigration violations. Jail officials will contact ICE to ask if agents want to order a hold so they can investigate when an inmate sets one of several triggers. The primary trigger, Tracy said, is if the inmate was born outside the U.S.

The flap over Hernandez's release comes as the Legislature concluded its debate over a comprehensive immigration bill. The bill, which was submitted to Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. on Tuesday, includes a number of reforms, including giving police officers more authority to enforce immigration laws.

June Christensen, a neighbor of Burns, said she and her husband, Ken, are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to Hernandez's arrest and conviction. She said anyone with information on his whereabouts should contact the Spanish Fork Police Department.

"I'm sure that he didn't mean to do it, but he was driving without the privilege in the United States," she said of Hernandez. "We just want to bring him in if we can find him."

Judge: Ja Rule can't post pals' bail

A judge in New York says Ja Rule can't post bail for co-defendants in a gun possession case — and she wants the duo to come up with their own money.

State Supreme Court Justice Micki Scherer said Wednesday the rapper "put himself in the position of perhaps controlling the outcome of the case" by posting thousands of dollars in bail for the co-defendants.

"I think the potential for it is a big problem," Scherer said.

Ja Rule's lawyer said the defense will come up with separate bail packages for co-defendants Dennis Cherry and Mohamed Gamal.

Simpson Walks Free After Judge Rap

OJ Simpson again walked free from a Las Vegas jail hours after a judge blistered him for "arrogance or ignorance" for breaking bail terms in a robbery case.

The former NFL star posted bond and was released from jail on Thursday just after 11pm local time. He walked out by himself and quickly got into a white Mercedes and was driven away without comment to the dozen members of the news media on hand.

Unusual Cell Phone Problem For Bondsmen

How well do you remember phone numbers? Can you call a family member or friend from memory or do you rely on the numbers stored in your cell phone? If you're stuck in jail, it can mean the difference between getting out or spending time behind bars.

"Somebody has to pay for the bond, and most of the time we need an indemnitor, someone who is going to take financial responsibility for the full amount of the bond to make sure that this person is going to go to court," explained bail bondsman Wendy Zamutt.

You'd think all you have to do is grab your cell phone and call someone. But remember, when you're behind bars, you don't have your cell phone.

"We live in a time where everyone has a cell phone and nobody has any phone numbers memorized. Everything is on speed dial -- so nobody has any numbers that they can give me and that causes a huge problem," Wendy said.

No numbers means no financing and no quick chance of getting out of jail.

"If you don't have any phone numbers plan on hunkering down because you're gonna be here awhile," Wendy warned.

It's also good to remember that since calls from jail have to be collect, in most cases, you can't call a cell phone from behind bars. It has to be a landline.

School Boards Want Less Relief for Forfeited Jail Bonds

Fines and forfeitures of jail bonds account for more than $60 million in school funding across the state. But collecting that money was not always such a high priority.

In the criminal case of James Marvin Johnson, for example, his brother, Donald Johnson, put up his home and Lillington business, C&J Auto, to cover the $225,000 bond.

James Marvin Johnson remains on the run after skipping out on bond in the 1999 rape of a 12-year-old girl. By law, Donald Johnson was supposed to pay the full amount when his brother bolted.

A well-known businessman, Johnson pleaded with the court and school board for relief, saying he spent about $50,000 to track down his brother.

Court records show Johnson eventually paid $10,000 of the $225,000. He said he feels like he got off easy.

"They could have took everything I had. My business and all," he said.

Johnson's gain was the schools' loss. In 2006, Harnett County took in more than $549,663 from fines and forfeitures, while Wake County raked in close to $6 million. So far in 2007, Johnston County has gained approximately $600,000 from bail bonds.

Johnston County Board of Education attorney Jim Lawrence said school systems are working harder than ever to collect.

"That's $600,000 for classrooms. ... And why not follow them up and get whatever money we can?" he said.

Durham bondsman Tony Woods, president of the North Carolina Bail Agents Association, said a change in the law makes it much tougher now to get relief on forfeited bonds.

Still, Woods believes that many courts treat family and friends with far more leniency.

"The layperson is not held to the standard of the bail bondsman when it comes time to pay," Woods said. "No, that's not (fair)."

There have been signs that courts are toughening up on those kinds of forfeitures. Harnett County School Board Attorney Duncan McCormick, who approved the reduction in the Johnson bond, said he probably would not have allowed it today.

As for himself, Donald Johnson said he has learned his lesson about ponying up for bonds.

"I will never sign a bond again as long as I live," he said. "If you run, you're guilty. ... The Bible says to forgive, but I never forget."

Bail Bondsman Claims Bonding Process Takes Too Long

The time it takes to bond an inmate out of the Benton County Jail varies substantially from Washington County, according to a bondsman who routinely writes bonds at both jails.

Curt Clark, a bonding agent with Action Bail Bonds, said on average it may take up to seven hours for the Benton County Jail to release someone after bondsmen give deputies the inmates' bonding paperwork.

Clark said at the Washington County Jail, he waits usually 15 to 30 minutes for an inmate to be released.

"I don't know what the problem is," Clark said of the Benton County Jail bonding process.

Capt. Hunter Petray, Benton County jail commander, said the time it takes to release inmates on bond depends how much paperwork they've accumulated. Court orders, property, jail records and bonding information are all checked before an inmate is released.

Deputies also verify the inmate doesn't have a warrant from another jurisdiction before release, Petray added.

One to two bonding deputies work each shift in Benton County.

Four detention deputies were recently assigned to work with Northwest Arkansas Immigration Criminal Apprehension Task Force, Petray said. Their loss means Petray's staff has fewer people to deal with matters such as bonds.

Petray asked to hire 10 deputies for the detention facility and was given two, he said.

The Benton County and Washington County sheriff's offices and the Rogers and Springdale police departments assigned officers to the task force. Officers received specialized training and have some immigration enforcement authority.

Deputies "do the best we can," Petray said. It's "not as simple" as walking someone out of the facility, he added.

Clark acknowledged Petray's explanation may impact the bonding process, but "it's just like any other business. It's hard to keep good employees."

Jana Brady of Bentonville took a friend to the Benton County Jail, who turned himself in at 12:50 p.m. on Tuesday on a misdemeanor charge.

Brady said she didn't expect the process to be quick but was entertaining her 1-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son while waiting on her friend.

At 2 p.m., she was given the bond paperwork to fill out and turned it back to the detention deputies, she said. The friend was officially released from the jail at 2:34 p.m.

Lt. Chris Reeser, who works in the Washington County Jail, said the time it takes to release an inmate from that facility varies depending on what's "going on."

Louann Eagle of Stilwell, Okla., bonded out a relative from the Washington County Jail on Saturday morning. The relative was arrested the night before on a misdemeanor charge.

Eagle said she arrived at the jail at approximately 10 a.m. A bondsman started the paperwork to release the relative at 10:15 a.m. and had it turned into detention deputies by 10:35 a.m.

The relative was released from the jail at 10:53 a.m.

The process of bonding out at Washington County Jail was quick, Eagle said. She added that she's never had to bond anyone out of the Benton County Jail.

Reeser said there are typically six booking deputies working on a shift with the release time averaging 15 to 20 minutes, Reeser said. Washington County detention deputies also verify property and paperwork before an inmate is released, he said.

Bill Browning Jr., an agent with First Arkansas Bail Bonds, said Washington County Jail has always been slow booking inmates into the jail but on average it takes 30 to 40 minutes "tops" to release them.

Browning agreed with Clark that the Benton County Jail can take "hours" to release an inmate.

"I honestly don't know what the holdup is," Browning said.

The Benton County Jail is overcrowded and needs a larger budget and staff, but Browning said "so much more plays into that" than staff shortage. He added it's the detention deputies' "attitude" which contributes to the timeliness of the bonding process.

AT A GLANCE

State Law On Bonding Timeliness

Tommy Reed, executive director with the Arkansas Professional Bail Bondsman Licensing Board, said there are no regulations or Arkansas statutes regarding the timeliness of releasing someone from a detention facility.

The issue of timeliness is an issue to be taken up with jail administration, Reed said.

Prominent OC Attorney Pleads Guilty in Bail Bonds Scheme

A prominent defense attorney pleaded guilty Friday to conspiring with bail bonds agents to solicit business for his law firm.

Joseph Gerard Cavallo, 52, of Irvine pleaded guilty to one felony count each of conspiring to engage in attorney capping, conspiring to solicit illegal bail bond referrals and receiving illegal bail bond referrals, said Susan Schroeder, a district attorney spokeswoman.

Bondsman Must Establish Fugitive Is Dead

A bail bonding company has 60 days to prove a murder suspect is dead or risk losing $350,000 put up to promise the fugitive's appearance in court.

David Coffman, 46, skipped town in September 2006 while facing a first-degree murder charge accusing him of fatally shooting his 47-year-old girlfriend Julie Hall in the back.

In January, police and ABC Bail Bonding received photos of a dead body in the mail that the sender claimed was Coffman's. The photo allegedly was shot during an autopsy conducted in Mexico and the package included copies of Coffman's bank card, credit cards, Social Security card and a photo of his girlfriend said to have been found on the dead man's badly beaten body. It also included fingerprints, which the FBI confirmed were Coffman's.

But Monongalia County Circuit Court Judge Russell Clawges and Prosecutor Marcia Ashdown say that's not good enough.

At a court hearing Tuesday on whether ABC Bail Bonding should forfeit the $350,000 put up for Coffman's bond, Clawges gave the company 60 days to provide dental records or DNA tests that match Coffman to the body.

Ashdown said Wednesday that the body in the photograph "may very well be'' that of Coffman, but it also could be part of "an elaborate hoax.''

Attempts to obtain copies of any police or autopsy reports to validate Coffman's death or have the body returned to West Virginia for testing have been unsuccessful, she said.

"We were told it's not like here, where police document everything,'' she said.

Though ABC Bail Bonding is fully responsible for the bond, Coffman's mother, Gloria Linger, was originally led to believe that she could lose her home if her son skipped out on his bail, Linger's attorney, Lynne Crane of Morgantown, said Wednesday.

Linger has since gone through bankruptcy, but maintains possession of her home, according to bankruptcy records filed in the Northern District of U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

The $350,000 bond "was an unsecured debt. There was no lien on her property,'' Crane said.

Police said Coffman shot Hall over the Memorial Day weekend in 2006 after she told him she was leaving him.

Coffman was last seen at a Mount Morris, Pa., truck stop, where his Jeep was found in late September 2006. Police think he likely caught a ride south with a truck driver.

Their attention turned to Mexico after Coffman's bank account was tapped in Mexico City.

A call to the bonding company's attorney, David Jividen of Wheeling, was not immediately returned.