Bond Company Accused of Defrauding Migrants Ordered to Pay $811M
A company that posts bonds for immigrants in federal detention was ordered to pay more than $811 million in penalties and restitution Tuesday after a lawsuit alleged the business had defrauded migrants and used deception.
Nexus Services will now have to pay about $231 million in restitution along with penalties of $13.8 million to New York, $7.1 million to Virginia, and $3.4 million to Massachusetts. The ruling filed in the Western District of Virginia also ordered the company and its subsidiary Libre by Nexus, along with its three executives, to each hand over more than $111 million in civil penalties.
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The attorneys general of New York, Massachusetts, and Virginia filed the lawsuit alongside the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in 2021. The complaint accused the company of obscuring the true cost of its services while promising to secure migrants’ release on bond as they faced deportation. It also alleged that it required clients to wear GPS ankle monitors which caused injuries in some cases and that the company used Spanish-language advertisements and then handed clients agreements to sign that were largely written in English.
“This judgment is a victory for thousands of immigrant families who lost their life savings and were targeted and preyed on by Libre,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement. “Libre exploited vulnerable immigrants and their families to pad its pockets, and that is illegal and unconscionable.”
The company said in a statement that it would appeal the judgment. “We continue to remain committed to serving our clients—people who suffer and sacrifice for a better life, and who do not deserve to be political pawns in an American legislature or an American courtroom,” the statement read, according to the Associated Press.
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