A 24-year-old California man is in custody after an investigation by Colorado police linked him to a bail bond scam in Colorado Springs, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office said today.
Local police arrested Michael Stephen Moynihan in Sacramento after El Paso County investigators said he worked with a member of Colorado Springs-based Bobby Brown Bail Bonds to bilk a co-signer out of $1,400.
Police said an employee of Bobby Brown leaked the co-signer’s personal information to Moynihan several months ago. He then contacted her and claimed she owed the additional money for new charges in her case. When she got to court on March 28, the Sheriff’s Office said, she realized she had been the victim of a scam.
El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa said he was disappointed in the lack of cooperation from the bondsman’s office in pursuing the case.
“It is disheartening that a bondsman with a longstanding relationship with this Office and the media would choose to impede as opposed to work with local law enforcement to bring criminals to justice. My hope is we can return to a relationship based on respect and cooperation,” Maketa said.
Nobody at the bondsman’s office will face charges, the Sheriff’s Office said.
A subsequent investigation by California authorities linked Moynihan to a nationwide scam involving some 600 victims, the Sheriff’s Office said, and Federal prosecutors will file charges next week.
Kyle Glazier: 303-954-1638
