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          Additional Information

          Not BBB accredited

          Additional Information for Marvin's Bail Bonds

          View full profile
          BBB File Opened:
          4/6/2011
          Business Management
          • Mr. Marvin Morgan, Owner
          Contact Information

          Principal

          • Mr. Marvin Morgan, Owner

          Customer Contact

          • Mr. Marvin Morgan, Owner
          Additional Business Information
          Believed to be out of business
          According to information in BBB files, it appears that this business is no longer in business.
          Additional Info
          Mail sent to the business on 06/23/2017 was returned by the U.S. Postal Service as Undeliverable as Addressed.
          Government Actions
          Government Action: BBB reports on known government actions involving business’ marketplace conduct:
          NYC DCA Files Charges Against Bail Bond Agent Marvin Morgan—and the Companies That Hired Him

          The following describes a pending government action that has been formally brought by a government agency but has not yet been resolved. We are providing a summary of the governments allegations, which have not yet been proven.

          On February 15, 2018, the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) announced charges against bail bond agent Marvin Morgan, and several insurance and management companies for engaging in deceptive and unlawful trade practices that preyed on vulnerable New Yorkers desperate to help bring their loved ones home.

          DCA’s charges, which will be filed at the New York State Supreme Court, allege numerous violations of the Consumer Protection Law by Morgan, the insurance companies (Crum & Forster Insurance Brokers, Inc., Evergreen National Indemnity Company, Financial Casualty & Surety, Inc., Roche Surety and Casualty Co., Inc.) and the management companies that the insurance companies hired to oversee Morgan (Cutting Edge Bail Bonds, LLC, Steven Krauss, C.E. Parish General Agency, Inc., Cyril E. Parish, Williams National Surety Corp., and the estate of Bradley Williams).

          DCA is seeking more than $57,500 in fines and restitution for 16 consumers and a restitution fund for the affected consumers who have not yet filed complaints with DCA. On average, the consumers cited in DCA’s complaint are owed over a thousand dollars each. Thousands more New Yorkers sought Morgan’s services since 2012. DCA encourages any consumers who were victims of Morgan’s deceptive practices to contact the agency to file a bail bond agent complaint by calling 311, or by filing a complaint at nyc.gov/dca.

          DCA’s investigation found that Marvin Morgan, who owned and operated Around the Clock Bail Bonds, Marvin Morgan Bail Bond Agency, Marvin’s Fianzas, and Marvin’s Bail Bonds, charged illegal fees, refused to provide copies of documents to consumers, and failed to return collateral owed to consumers. While New Yorkers lost thousands of dollars each to Morgan’s scam, his insurance companies and managers looked the other way. Morgan’s bail bond agent license was recently revoked by the New York State Department of Financial Services.

          New York City has taken a number of steps to reduce reliance on money bail including the introduction of supervised release, a citywide bail fund and the expansion of the bail expeditors program. In the last three years, the jail population has decreased by more than 20 percent. Those detained on bail of $2000 or less is down 68 percent over the last four years.

          Some friends and family members who cannot afford to pay cash bail may turn to the for-profit bail bond industry, posting collateral, which may be cash, real property, or anything else of value deemed acceptable by the bail bond agent in order to secure a surety bond. This $14 billion industry preys on the anxiety of consumers desperate to help their loved ones return home in order to turn a profit.

          Marvin Morgan’s deception includes:
          Charging illegal fees that exceeded the legal limit established in the New York State Insurance Law.
          Morgan routinely charged fees for illegal additional or add-on services such as mandatory third-party courier fees of up to $1,000 for transporting paperwork, which illegally circumvented the fee cap established in the New York State Insurance Law, which applies to the premium and other fees.
          Failing to Refund Collateral to Some Consumers and Deceiving Other Consumers About the Status and Availability of Their Collateral.
          When consumers produced the required court record needed to receive their collateral, Morgan would stall the refund process by claiming that he had not received their documents, blaming the insurance company for delays, promising that the check was in the mail, or demanding that the consumer call a different number for assistance. Some consumers eventually received collateral refund checks that were less than the amount posted, or made out to the wrong person—an apparent effort to further delay the return process—and many individuals simply never received their collateral at all.
          Refusing to Provide Consumers with Copies of Executed Bail Bond Documents.
          Despite requiring consumers to fill out several forms in order to secure a surety bond, Morgan refused to provide copies of these documents to the consumer, even when specifically requested, claiming that providing copies was against the agency’s policies.
          Providing Consumers with Misleading and Inaccurate Receipts.
          Morgan failed to identify himself consistently on receipts, sometimes using the company names “Marvin Morgan Bail Bond Agency” and “Marvin’s Bail Bonds,” which were not registered with the Department of State, and were not used by Morgan to contract with insurance or management companies. The receipts also failed to list the name of the insurance companies underwriting the bond, or worse, contained the name of the wrong company.

          Business Categories
          Bail Bonds

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