State senator probes report of bail bondsmen shirking forfeiture payments

By Deborah Sherman
9News
06/06/2010
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_15236802

A state senator has requested information about Colorado's bail bond industry after a 9News investigation found some agents are using legal technicalities to get removed from bonds to avoid paying the forfeiture and finding the fugitives.

"It is in all of our interests to ensure that people accused of crimes appear in court and that we are not inappropriately allowing people to get out of their bond obligations," said Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora.

Carroll asked the Legislative Council to research how many exoneration motions have been filed, how many were granted and by which judges.

She also requested a survey of all other states to learn how they handle motions by bail bondsmen to be taken off or removed from bonds.

Several bail agents told 9Wants to Know they've been playing the legal system to get removed from bonds.

In exoneration motions to the court, they claim the fugitive has fled the state, fled the country or that legal notices were mailed late, which means they lost a valuable opportunity to find the fugitive. Some reasons are honest, but some are misleading, said paralegals.

"I've put people in Morocco," a bail agent said, laughing, when describing what he tells judges to convince them that a fugitive can't be found. "The magic act is to not pay the money, and we're all doing it."

That means agents can pocket the premiums that were paid by the defendants and don't have to spend money looking for them if they fail to appear in court.

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