YORK COUNTY, S.C. — A group of York County bail bondsmen are claiming some of their competitors are only collecting 2%-3% of bail.
The South Carolina law says they have to collect 10%.
“We’re hearing it and once we heard it there’s a group of us that came together and were trying to stop the crookedness,” said bondsman Chris Threatt. He talked about “bad bondsmen” who he said are helping suspects.
Bondsmen have taken to Facebook to complain about this trend. Threatt said the “bad guys” are putting the good guys like himself out of business.
“This is going on way too long,” Threatt said. “A lot of us bondsmen are having to shut the doors.”
Threatt also believes the practice is leading suspects to reoffend and possibly not show up for court.
Today, solicitor Kevin Brackett told Channel 9 he’s not familiar with the supposed trend. He said all bondsmen should have a strong interest in making sure their customers show up to court.
“When a bondsman posts bond they’re guaranteeing that person is gonna show up and they’re backing it with their promise to pay that money if they don’t,” Brackett said. “So they have a strong interest in making sure people show up.”
South Carolina’s Department of Insurance oversees bondsmen in the state. Channel 9 asked how big of a problem this is and if the department has disciplined any of the companies. The state said no fines have been issued to date.
The department issued five warning letters to bondsmen back in December 2024. They said they did so to clarify any confusion about the law. Since then, the department has investigated 15 allegations. Most of them were cleared due to lack of evidence or witnesses.
Currently, they are investigating 10 allegations.
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