CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Charlotte bail bondsman is under criminal investigation after a man accused him of keeping $200,000 in collateral long after his court case ended.
Greg Parker filed a complaint against Nathan Chambers and 123 Bail Bonding with the North Carolina Department of Insurance, which regulates the bail bond industry, in October. The agency referred the complaint for criminal investigation the following month.
"It's a ton of money," Parker said. "Obviously, you wake up every day thinking about it."
In a scramble to get out of jail, Parker said he wired the money as collateral to secure his bond for a stalking charge prosecutors eventually dismissed due to insufficient evidence. State law requires a bondsman to return collateral within 15 days of a case's disposition. Court records show a judge dismissed Parker's case in October. According to Parker, the bail bondsman has refused to return the money.
"It's my money. I earned it. I want it back," he said. "There's too many unanswered questions. There's no way that you can justify keeping that money if the judge didn't revoke your bond, which the judge never did."
Court records show while Parker did remove his electronic monitoring device, there's no record of him ever failing to appear for a court date. The clerk's office also confirmed there's no bond forfeiture notice in his file.
A judge initially set Parker's bond for $200,000. Records show shortly after Parker's arrest, he and his sister paid a portion of that amount ($25,000) in June, essentially a service fee to 123 Bail Bonding, to initially get out of jail. Parker, who lives in Michigan, also put down collateral to cover the full bond amount, records show. In the more serious cases or when someone lives out of state, it's not unusual for a bondsman to require collateral as security, just in case a defendant runs or is a no-show in court.
WCNC Charlotte made multiple attempts to understand why Chambers has failed to return the money, texting, calling, emailing and twice visiting 123 Bail Bonding. WCNC Charlotte also reached out to their attorney.
"On behalf of our client, we decline to comment on this matter," the Snow Legal Group said in an email.
According to a blog post on the company's website, once charges are dropped in a case or a trial is completed, "collateral will be returned if the bail bondsman’s premium has been paid."
The law firm previously issued a cease and desist letter to Parker in November for what attorney Kenneth D. Snow called "unwarranted harassment activities."
Department of Insurance Deputy Commissioner John Cable said, while he can't disclose specifics of this case, only a small percentage of complaints are referred for criminal investigation.
"98% of the bail industry does it right, does everything they're supposed to," Cable said. "When we find an action that a bondsman has done incorrectly, we'll review it. We'll look at it for what type of violation was it. Is it a clerical error or something they didn't understand? Is there needing to be more education in that area or did they deliberately try to defraud a customer?"
Cable said the law is clear when it comes to collateral, considering failure to properly return collateral within 15 days a felony and also making it grounds for disciplinary action against a bondsman's license. The Bail Bond Regulatory Division has completed 11 disciplinary cases related to collateral violations since 2017, according to Cable. During that same time, the agency received 1,670 complaints.
According to Cable, the criminal investigation in this case is "active." He said the agency hopes to come to a speedy resolution.
Parker is not new to the judicial system. Court records show he's faced prior stalking convictions in Florida. While he disputes the details that led to his past no-contest pleas there, he said he is a victim in Charlotte.
"This should never have happened. It kind of steamrolled into something bigger," Parker said of his initial arrest. "People are at their lowest when they have to go the bail bondsman and get bailed out of jail. It's just a hard thing to deal with, you know."
Contact Nate Morabito at nmorabito@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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