Unlicensed Bail Bondsman Doesn't Get 2nd Chance

Bail bonds are one of the most highly regulated industries. The manner in which new bonds are solicited are strictly spelled out in state laws and those laws are typically watched by the various Departments of Insurance. While most people realize a bail bonds agent or bail bondsman needs a license. What most don't know is that employees of a bail bonding agency are supposed to have strict limits about the interaction they have clients.

Unforutantely this caught Onil Martinez in hot water recently. The Fort Myers bail bond agent was convicted last week for allowing an unauthorized person to work in a bail bond office. Martinez, who oversaw 2nd Chance Bail Bonds, is out on bond until the sentencing hearing,


Although this isn't Martinez's only run in with the law. He was originally arrested in February 2010 and charged with one count each of extortion, grand theft and criminal mischief and two counts of allowing an unlicensed bond agent to act as a bond agent. Authorities alleged he didn’t return a $90,000 bond collateral and destroyed the woman’s property, but prosecutors declined to pursue charges other than on the count for which he was convicted last week.


The charge of allowing an unlicensed person to act as a bondsman is a a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for March 14.

Bail Bonds Refund Scam Results In Two Convictions

As everyone knows, once a defendant appears in court as ordered and fulfills their legal obligations the bail used to secure their release will be refunded. Shandarrick Barnes and Nathan Jones were recently convicted of using their company Refund Solutions to fraudulently get bonds that had been posted by other people.

Sounds like a sure fire to make a lot money. You get other people's bail for nothing. It also sounds like a sure fire way to go to jail. Common sense says that can't go on for too long before people who rightfully are entitled to their bail refunds come looking for their money. Everything started to unravel for the duo when an actual bond poster tried to obtain their $38,000 from the court and were told it had been released to Refund Solutions. As you can imagine, signatures and id cards are required to walk away with the bail money. Of course, a false driver's license and a forged signature were used to fraudulently obtain the bail refund.

 Shandarrick Barnes was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to defrauding the sheriff's office and Cobb County Superior Court clerk and Sheriff's office. Mr. Jones, has not yet been sentenced for his crimes.

NPR Honored For Bail Bonds Coverage

The issue of pre trial release programs is one that seems to consistently be at the forefront of the bail bonds industry. The 2010 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Silver Baton Award for excellence in broadcast journalism is being bestowed upon NPR news for their work on the controversial issue of bail bonds and pre trial release programs. NPR did a three part investigative journalism series which was critical of the cost and process involved in the bail bonds industry.

The NPR series looked at possible inequalities in the utilization of bail bonds, treatment of clients based on socio economic factors and unseen costs to American taxpayers.

Specfically, questions were raised if the overcrowding issues facing American jails would be different if the bail bonds process wasn't so profit driven. The piece noted that many defendants are incarcerated for numerous non violent crimes because they can not afford relatively small bail amounts. They put that cost at aprox. $9 billion annually.

They are quick to identify the bail bonds industry as an impediment to improving the overcrowding problem in our jails. Citing the bail bonds industry consistent opposition to pre trial release programs, the NPR series suggests a wider application of pre trial release programs, while unpopular with bail bondsmen, may be key to reducing taxpayers costs and overcrowding in jails.

Judge Impeached Over Bail Bonds Corruption

U.S. District Judge Thomas Porteous of Louisiana was convicted by the Senate on four articles of impeachment. That marks just the eigth time in US history a federal judge has been removed from the bench by Congress.

Prosecutors alledged that drinking problems and gambling woes lead the judge to take money from bail bondsmen and lawyers of cases for which he was presiding. In addition, he was accused of using a false name to file for bankruptcy and lying to Congress during his judicial confirmation.

Louis Marcotte, a New Orleans bail bondsman, testified that he provided meals, vacations and other items of value to the judge. In return, the judge was said to have raised bail amounts which resulted in higher bail bondsman fees for Marcotte.

Bail Bondsman Demands More Than Fee From Client

Bail bondsman, Curtis Jackson Maroney, was arrested by Lexington County Sheriff’s detectives for alledgely forcing a female client to perform sexual acts and do manual labor. These were alledged to have been a condition of the South Carolina's bail bondsman's efforts to post her bail bond. Mr. Maroney worked for Affordable Bonding, as a licensed S.C. bail bondsman.

According to law enforcement reports, the bail bondsman threatened to revoke the female client's bail if she did not comply with his orders of forced work and sexual acts. The woman's original charge was Driving Under the Influence. While the case is still under investigation, it is safe to say the charges of blackmail and extortion could land the bail bondsman behind bars for a very long time.

Bail Bondsman's Office Broken Into By Client?

Being a bail bondsman can be a thankless job. However, Rafael Phillip Lujan is suspected of really making it thankless by allegedly breaking into the office of the bondsman's who bailed him out for a warrant for failure to appear in court for harassment.. After posting a bond for Mr. Lujan, he was at the Blackwell Bail Bonds office filling out paperwork.

Later that day, the bail bonds office was broken into. Police officers found Mr. Luzan in a store nearby with several two dollar bills. Apparently, Blackwell Bail Bonds had a two dollar bill mint sheet stolen during the break in.

After being arrested for the break in and theft, Mr. Lujan will undoubtedly being looking for a bail bondsman to bail him out. However, with a charge of burglary in a bail bondsman office, it may be tough to find sympathetic and willing bondsmen.

NASCAR Driver Back In Jail After Bail Bondsman Finds Him With Drugs

Being arrested once is terrible, but two times in the same week is mind boggling. That is exactly what happened to James Edward Neal. The former NASCAR driver had just been released from the Orange County jail on bail, after being arrested on suspicion of false imprisonment and attempted rape.

Shortly after being bailed out, the 56 year old male was arrested at the Best Western San Clemente Inn on suspicion of drug possession. An Always For You bail bondsman tracked the defendant down when they became concerned about their client. The bail bondsman found the former NASCAR driver in the motel room with methamphetamine and other drug paraphernalia.

The bondsman consequently called deputies, who in turn arrested Mr. Neal.