Fact or Fiction:  All Bail Bonds Require Collateral

Fiction: Although some bail bonds companies will require you post something of value (known collateral) to ensure the defendant will appear in court or for a payment plan, other bondsmen provide no collateral bail bonds, which clearly means collateral will not be required. Usually, the need for collateral is based on the risk and the amount of a bond. Is the bond $100,000? Is the defendant from North Korea? Or, is the defendant a local person who has a solid job for the last 10 years?

Many people do not want to put up their house as collateral on a bond. Similarly, some folks need a payment plan to cover the bail bond fee. If this applies to you, look for a bondsman who can work with your individual needs.

In this edition of Bail Bonds: Fact or Fiction, we address questions relating what it means to be an “indemnitor” for a California bail bond.

Fact or Fiction:  I’m listed as the bail bond indemnitor on my brother’s bond contract. The bail bonds agency was paid in full and he’s been released from jail.  There’s nothing else I need to do, right?

Fiction.  When you sign a contract with a California bail bonds company you assume responsibility beyond just making sure the agency is paid.

When a person is released on bail that does not mean their charge has gone away. Instead, it means they’re allowed to get out of jail and resume their life until their court dates.   It is only after the matter has been formally resolved by a judge that the case is considered to be closed.  As an “indemnitor,” the person who signed the bail bond contract, it becomes your responsibility to ensure that the defendant appears for all of their mandated court appearances.  Should he or she “fail to appear” in court, and has skipped town, the bail bondsman will have six months to locate the defendant and bring them into custody.  You legally share this responsibility. You are required to help the bondsman locate the defendant.  If the defendant is unable to be located, you as the indemnitor will be responsible for paying the full amount of their bond to the court.

Now, of course, this is a worst case scenario and such cases turn out this way about 2% of the time nationwide. So, if the defendant is a friend or a relative who you know will simply go to court and deal with the case, as clearly most out on defendants on bail do, by all means help out. If, however, you barely know the defendant, but you do know they just arrived from Columbia last week, you may want to reconsider.

If you’ve been asked to cosign for a bail bond, be sure to ask the bail bond agency questions you might have about the responsibilities you’ll be assuming.

It’s no great secret that the economic waters continue to be a little rough.   Right now many people are stretching their paychecks just to make ends meet.  This is something that’s hitting people from all across the board, from all walks of life, and from all income brackets and backgrounds.  Having money stashed aside in a “just in case I need to bail someone out of jail-fund” is likely not something you have.

In this edition of Bail Bonds: Fact or Fiction, we address questions regarding California bail bonds payments and financing a bail bond.

Fact or Fiction: You Have To Pay For A Bail Bond Prior To Release From Jail

Fiction:  With many bondsmen, yes, you do need to pay the full bond amount (10% of the total bail) prior to the defendant being release from jail. However, there are California bail bonds companies that offer payment plans.  You should keep in mind, though, that not every bail bondsman will allow you to spread out payment on a bond and if they do; the person wishing to purchase it will still need to meet eligibility requirements.

Different companies will offer different plans: some will require a minimum down; some will require you to pay within a given time frame; some may be very flexible and able to meet individual situations. Ask your bondsman about payment options, bail bonds payment plans, and find out if they will be able to work within your financial parameters.

Fact or Fiction:  You can negotiate with a bail bondsman in the same way you can haggle with a car dealer.

Fiction. Sorry folks, that misconception is just that – a misconception.  Bail bond premiums are set by on a state-by-state basis. In California, that agency is the Department of Insurance.  In the state of California, bail bonds companies charge 10% of a bond’s total premium to provide the service of getting someone out of jail.

Although discounts are granted on occasion based on the parameters of the bond, the greater portion of bonds are not eligible to receive a discount on the purchase of a bail bond.

You will come across a bail bonds company that will be touting 5% bail bonds.  You’d probably be thinking how great a deal they are giving you.  In this instance, you should be cautious of a “bail bonds bait and switch”.  Ten percent is an industry standard and by offering such a low rate they ’are likely attempting to lure you into the office under false pretense.  In fact, the unscrupulous bondsman is requesting 5% down in cash with the remainder being worked out via payment plan. At this point it’s late, you’re tired, and when they produce the contract, you sign it. This practice isn’t illegal, per se, but it is unethical.  There are bondsman who offer payment plans. If that’s what you need, look for it from an expert bondsman.

If you are in fact being offered a 5% bail bond, be aware that price undercutting in the state of California is illegal.

Fact or Fiction:  You get your money back from the bail bondsman when the case is over.

Fiction.  This misconception goes right to the heart of What Is A Bail Bond or How is Bail Different from Bail Bonds?

Simply put, bail is a security that’s paid to the court which allows a defendant to be released from jail while awaiting his or her trial date.  If a person’s bail has been set at $5,000 and a friend or family member chooses to post that amount in full with the jail or court using cash or cashier’s check, that’s certainly an option.  The court will then hold onto that money and, if a defendant fulfills all their legal and financial obligations pertaining to the case; the money will be returned to the individual who posted it when the case concludes. That process can, however, take several months or even years to resolve.  If the defendant “fails to appear” for any mandated court proceedings, the bail will be considered forfeited, meaning the court keeps the money, and a bench warrant will be issued for his or her immediate arrest.

This brings us to Bail Bonds: If you instead choose to work with a bail bondsman, the cost of bail bonds only 10% of the full amount of the bail would need to be paid in order for the defendant to be released from jail.  In this case, the money would be paid to the bondsman is a fee for their services and is non-refundable.

Fact or Fiction:  Bail bondsmen wear leather, carry guns, and chase down bad guys.

Fiction:   Bail bondsmen are everyday people, who are licensed by the California Department of Insurance and are able to assist a defendant get out of jail before their court date. There are fathers, daughters, wives, sons, and even soccer moms that are bail bondsmen.

They are not Dog-The-Bounty-Hunter-incarnates behind a desk. Plus, Dog the Bounty Hunter isn’t even a good mental representation of what your average bail bondsman looks like because he isn’t a bail bondsman; he’s a bounty hunter. Instead, he provides the service of tracking down defendants who have “failed to appear” in court, aka decided to skip town.

When a defendant skips bail, the bail bondsman assumes responsibility returning the defendant to court within a six-month time period or pay the defendant’s full bail amount to the court.

So with bail ranging from $10,000 to in excess of a million dollars, you can see why the bail company would have a vested interest in having that person returned to custody.

(Click on the Bail Bond Process image to view at larger size.)

The two were charged with felony residential burglary and misdemeanor entering a non-commercial building without consent.  Although the Quaids were released on bail, they fled to Canada in hopes of avoiding further legal action.

Dog’s wife, Beth, has come out guns-a-blazing in a Sept. 19 blog post, warning “we are coming to get you.”

“Every time you hear his name associated with yours, every time you leave your house, and every time you tippy toe across the border, you must get a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach,” she said, referencing the two $500,000 bonds pair skipped out on. “If [the person or persons the bail company bails out] is a no show, the bail company is left in a desperate situation and will surely have to pay the million. They could very well lose everything and end up devastated. A life’s work lost.  Ultimately they either have to catch you or pay.  You can run, but you can’t hide.”

Also arrested for suspicion of conspiracy to commit grand theft and perjury was Mark David Davis and Janelle Marie Llorens. Llorens was also charged with insurance fraud. It is not clear whether Davis and Llorens were employed by AJ’s Bail Bonds or what their connection might be to Pontillo. In 2008, AJ’s Bail Bond business was the concentration of a federal investigation.

Sergeant Anthony Bejaran, the Stanislaus County Jail sheriff’s spokesman, said Pontillo, Davis and Llorens were arrested without incident and being detained at the Stanislaus County Jail.

The arrests were sparked by a California Department of Insurance (DOI) investigation. The bail industry in California is regulated by the DOI. Dave Althausen, spokesman for the Department, said they couldn’t release any details yet, as they were “still coming in from agents in the field.”

The bail set for Davis was $500,000, and Llorens had a bail of $1 million.

FBI agents and gang task force members served a federal warrant and conducted a search at AJ’s Bail Bonds on December 23, 2008. They also searched the home of Pontillo for paperwork and files. There were no arrests made during this search.

The Central Valley Gang Impact Task Force helped federal agents in the search conducted in 2008. This task force unit is funded federally and is a countywide group who has members from other local law enforcement agencies and the FBI.

The FBI would not comment on whether or not there was any gang activity or any other details of the investigation with AJ’s Bail Bond business.

Located in Los Angeles, Greg Rynerson Bail Bonds is a family-owned and operated company consisting of licensed bail agents with many years of experience.

ExpertBail is a networking organization that acknowledges the best in this field. They distinguish their selection of bail bondsman by the companies who exert a professional attitude, trustworthiness and ethical attributes, the opposite of what most media outlets portray.

AIA, the leading bail bonds underwriting company, located in Los Angeles and run by the Nairin family, developed the ExpertBail network.

ExpertBail’s major contribution is providing families and communities in California information on where and how to find the highest quality and most professional bail bond agents the state has to offer.

Greg Rynerson spoke on the behalf of his bail bonds company, “As a bondsman, we’ve always struggled with the stereotype of the neon sign and cigar filled room. For the professionals amongst bail companies, nothing could be further from reality. I applaud AIA and ExpertBail for helping to shine a light on the stand-out bondsmen in our industry. I’ve been proud to be affiliated with the Nairin family, AIA and now with ExpertBail.”

ExpertBail has set standards that each bail bond company must meet in order to obtain this recognition as bail experts, which includes their level of experience, trustworthiness and professionalism. For those who are in need of a quality bail bond company, they will be able to access this information at ExpertBail.com.

ExpertBail is the first national network for the bail bond industry. They help clients obtain the most professional and ethical bail bond companies. ExpertBail consists of the best and most experienced bail agents in the industry.

AIA or Allegany Casualty, International Fidelity and Associated Bond is the largest and oldest family run bail bond company. They have over 150 years experience and backs the ExpertBail network.