Woman claims to be bail bondsman to get money

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Laticia, who did not want to reveal her last name, was skeptical when she got a call from her boyfriend in the Mecklenburg County Jail saying he’d heard of someone who could bond him out of jail for a big discount.

Police are investigating what appears to be a scam to turn promises of freedom into quick cash.

“I was fixing to lose a lot of money, yes,” Laticia said Tuesday.

A woman who claimed to work for In and Out Bonding said it would cost Laticia $1,200 to bond her boyfriend out, which is much less than the $5,000 other bondsmen had quoted.

Laticia called In and Out Bonding and found out the woman was not a bondsman at all.

“No, she's not a bondsman and she definitely doesn't work for In and Out Bail Bonding,” Donna Jowers, who runs In and Out Bonding, said.

She decided to follow Laticia to the jail, armed with her cellphone, and confront the young woman who claimed her name was Moo Moo.

“So, her intent was to take the $1,200 from the client and not post a bond, and this has happened several times,” Jowers said. “I told her that she should be ashamed of herself. You know, because you were about to take this woman's money and not get her loved one out of jail. That hurts.”

Jowers didn’t stop there.

She called police and chased the woman down the street, video camera rolling, and watched as she jumped into a waiting car.

“Oh no, I wasn't going to let her get away. I was a track star,” Jowers said.

She got the car’s tag number on camera and passed it on to police who are investigating.

Laticia is convinced that she isn’t the only one.

“No, I'm not the only one,” Laticia said. “There's been many. The scam is real in that jail across the street.”

Cox Media Group