Illegal Bail Bond Solicitation Still Making the News
- August 04, 2011
- by Collateral Staff
People who solicit bail bond business illegally may think they've found the ultimate marketing strategy. With some flyers handed out in the courthouse, a call to an attorney to request referrals, or a secretive payment to an incarcerated person to push bail services to others, some bail agents have raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars in bail bond cases. But when things go wrong for these agents, they really go wrong.
Despite numerous posted warnings and anti-solicitation laws, the news still features the occasional tale of a bail agent who has been accused of soliciting business at courthouses or jails, or from attorneys. The people who make the news for these reasons are simply a few bad eggs out of a nation of hard-working, honest bail agents, but it's still surprising that they would risk damaging their careers and their peers' reputations just to make a quick buck.
Although most bail agents are well aware of the reasons not to solicit business illegally, this article takes a brief look at the problem and explores a few potentially illegal situations to avoid.
Penalties for illegal solicitation
Bail solicitation laws are different from state to state, but the potential penalties are often steep for bondsmen who are found guilty of solicitation. They can range from heavy financial penalties and loss of license to multiple years in jail. In May 2011, for example, a bail agent accused of illegal solicitation was facing up to 23 years in prison for various violations related to solicitation laws. Breaking solicitation laws may seem lucrative at the beginning, but getting caught can spell the end of a bail career as well as cause financial and legal hardship.
How it hurts the bail industry
Using illegal tactics to solicit businesscannot only lead to serious legal trouble, but it puts a black mark on the industry and gives opponents of private bail one more weapon in their argument arsenal. If a state continually runs into problems with illegal bail solicitation, the entire local industry could be subject to harsher laws that put further restrictions on how bail agents market their businesses.
Illegal solicitation also eliminates fair competition from bail agencies that are playing by the rules to run their businesses. It's harder to make an honest living when another bail agency is intercepting arrestees directly at the jail or courthouse. This is why bail agent associations in many states have turned their attention to preventing any bail agencies from gaining illegal access to the area around jails and courthouses.
Avoiding solicitation accusations is easy
The best way to avoid violating solicitation laws is obviously to know and understand the laws in your area. While we can't give you advice about your specific state in this article, here are some practices that may bring you trouble (if your state has outlawed them).
- Loitering inside or outside of the courthouse or jail. Going inside these locations to hand out flyers or verbally solicit people is a no-no in many states. Even standing near the buildings or sometimes on the nearby sidewalks can get you in trouble. Traditional and online marketing are better (and legal) options for you. By focusing on things such as your bail agent website, local search results, social media marketing and more, you will have plenty of people coming to you for bail bonds.
- Offering money or other incentives to people inside the jail or courthouse to refer your services. This solicitation method has landed many licensed bail agents and their conspirators in hot water throughout the years and even recently. It all starts when a bail agent offers money, reduced (or free) bail bond cost, or other incentives to people within courthouses or jails in exchange for urging other people to obtain bail bonds from the bail agent. Not only does this violate some states' laws regarding bail solicitation, but the people the bail agent is paying are also potentially committing the crime of negotiating or executing a bail bond without being a licensed bail agent.
- Exchanging referrals with attorneys. Some states forbid bail agents from referring attorneys, or attorneys from referring bail agents. California, for example, has banned this practice even if there is no exchange of money. Knowing what your local laws say about this subject can save you a big headache.
Conclusion
Again, the practices listed above are simply examples of activities that are illegal in many states, so doing your research about your own state's laws can help you avoid problems. The risks associated with illegal solicitation are not worth the rewards, and we want to see you have a long and fruitful career in the bail industry.
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