The San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office, after a two-year investigation into a bail-bond kickback scheme, filed charges Thursday against 19 people, including three bail-bond company owners, a former sheriff's deputy and an attorney.
The scheme involved bail agents paying inmates for referrals while they were in jail, Deputy District Attorney Cheryl Kersey said by phone.
The ongoing investigation so far has focused on two companies: Tidwell Bail Bonds in San Bernardino and Boone's Bail Bonds, which has offices in San Bernardino and Fontana.
Daniel and Shirley Tidwell, who are husband and wife, co-own Boone's Bail Bonds. Daniel Tidwell, 59, was charged with embezzlement. Shirley Tidwell, 43, was charged with a notary violation and filing a forged document. They were both charged with unlawfully soliciting bail.
Steve Tidwell, owner of Tidwell Bail Bonds, was charged with unlawfully soliciting bail.
Brothers Daniel and Steve Tidwell are the sons of former San Bernardino County Sheriff Floyd Tidwell, Kersey said.
The Tidwells could not be reached for comment Thursday.
The other 16 people face a variety of charges, ranging from conspiracy to solicit bail to possession of an assault weapon.
Most of the 19 charged were inmates or worked for bail-bond companies, officials said. Also among them were Attorney Geoffrey Newman, of Rancho Cucamonga, and Mike Steele, of Hesperia, a former sheriff's deputy. They could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Notices were sent to the 19 to appear in court on Feb. 18 or had warrants issued for their arrests.
Honest bail firms lost business because of the kickback scheme, Kersey said. The investigation is continuing, she said.
Six San Bernardino County sheriff's officials and two investigators from the California Department of Insurance have been working on the case for about a year, she said. |