9 Investigates: Sheriff, Department of Insurance clash over bail bond oversight

UNION COUNTY — A Union County bail bondsman that state officials accused of breaking bail bond laws is still approved by the state to teach people how to become bail agents.

A Department of Insurance investigation resulted in the agency bringing felony charges against Timothy Mathis in June 2015.

A Union County grand jury indicted Mathis on charges that he falsified information on monthly reports that help the agency keep track of what bonds are written.

Mathis believes the charges are based on lies and is currently fighting them in court.

He's confident about his knowledge of the bail bond industry and is critical about Department of Insurance regulations.
 
"I know bail bonding probably better than the attorney general," Mathis said.
 
Despite department officials accusing Mathis of three felonies, he remains certified by the agency to teach licensing courses for people to become bail agents.
 
When Eyewitness News first contacted him, he was in the middle of a class.
 
"They must not feel I'm a public risk," Mathis said.
 
A Department of Insurance spokesperson said the agency has attempted to revoke his licenses. The agency said it commenced an administrative proceeding and is currently awaiting the hearing order and decision from an administrative law judge.
 
The spokesperson also sent Eyewitness News a copy of Senate Bill 508 which will go into effect Oct. 1. It would give the department more power if it believes a bondsperson is a danger to public health, safety or welfare.
 
"I think it's fair to give them a chance for them to do the right thing," said Union County Sheriff Eddie Cathey.
 
Cathey is hopeful the new law will change regulations of the bail bond industry.
 
However, he doesn't believe the department needs the new law in order to take away licenses. He points to school teachers and law enforcement officers as positions where people are suspended from doing business if they face charges.
 
"I have spoken to the attorneys from the Department of Insurance and talked to them in depth about why I think they already had the authority [to take action on the license]," Cathey said.
 
On Wednesday, a Department of Insurance spokesperson sent Channel 9 emails where officials said they explained the current law and limitations to Cathey.
 
The emails claim a member of the Attorney General's Office was there for the conversations.
 
"It is no coincidence that the bail bondsmen my team and I have investigated, unjustly attack me for our aggressive regulation of their actions jeopardizing their licenses," said N.C. Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin in a statement. "Meanwhile, other bail bondsmen malign us because we have been unwilling to short-circuit constitutional due process to put their competitors out of business."
 
Goodwin's office has declined to make him available for interviews citing the agency's role as a law enforcement entity.
 
In a 2010 report, the North Carolina Bail Agents Association alleged that the Department of Insurance had deregulated the industry. It hired two former Department of Insurance as consultants to look into the issue.
 
The report found the department failed to check "criminal records" allowing people "with criminal convictions to obtain and maintain bond licenses."
 
Department of Insurance officials told the consultants they did not have the authority to take away bondsmen licenses in certain cases like misdemeanor convictions, the reports said. The consultants disagreed.
 
"I have had several bondsman from across the state, they want to clean up their own industry and they can't get help from the Department of Insurance to do it," Cathey said.
 
"They'll take on any agent and there is no regulatory action, this is what has made bonding as it is today a joke," Mathis said.

Statement from Wayne Goodwin, N.C. Department of Insurance Commissioner

"As our State Insurance Commissioner, I am proud of my department's strong regulation of the bail bond industry. In fact, we have come under fire from some members of this industry because of our enforcement.

It is no coincidence that bail bondsmen my team and I have investigated, unjustly attack me for our aggressive regulation of their actions jeopardizing their licenses.  Meanwhile, other bail bondsmen malign us because we have been unwilling to short-circuit constitutional due process to put their competitors out of business.

Despite opposition from some members of the bail bonds industry, I have tried to strengthen enforcement of bail bond laws.

I will continue to diligently and fairly enforce the law involving the bail bonding industry and protect citizens to the extent my authority allows."

Cox Media Group