Feb
2014
In North Carolina, a Wake County grand jury has indicted two former court clerks and two bondsmen in an alleged scheme to help bail bondsmen avoid paying forfeited bonds for people who didn’t show up on their court dates.
Kenneth Vernon Golder II and James L. Perkins are charged with obtaining property by false pretenses, accessing a government computer, altering court records, and misdemeanor bond violation. Golder faces an additional charge of misdemeanor unlicensed bail bonding.
Former court clerks Kelvin Lawrence Ballentine and Latoya Tanisha Barnes are charged with obtaining property by false pretenses, accessing a government computer, and altering court records.
This has been under investigation since last August, when Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby requested agents look into it.
When someone is arrested, they often have to post a bond to get out of jail before their trial. They either have to come up with the cash themselves, or they can pay a bail bondsman a non-refundable fee to post the bond for them.
A bail bondsman’s job is to guarantee to pay the court system if their clients don’t show up for court. That money, under North Carolina’s constitution, is used to fund public schools.
Prosecutors allege these bondsmen paid bribes to avoid paying forfeited bonds. The scheme had apparently been going on for years. Indictments allege that the four – between January 2008 and July 2013 – cheated the Wake County Public School System out of more than $1.5 million.
While the criminal cases are being worked by the SBI and DA’s office, Wake County Public Schools attorney Rod Malone stated he will be working in civil court to recover the money, fines and penalties to the tune of a total of about $1.5 million.
Sources said that the investigation by the SBI is far from over, in fact, more charges are expected in the coming weeks. Of the 307 cases in question, 148 have been resolved and the remaining cases, orders of arrest have been issued for anyone who still has not appeared in court.
More Information:
News & Observer – Bail Bond Scheme
Phill Cross is the owner and administrator of the Fugitive Recovery Network website.
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