SIMI VALLEY : 2 Bail Bond Firms Accused in Lawsuit

Ventura County prosecutors have accused two Simi Valley bail bond companies of unlawful business practices in a civil lawsuit, a district attorney’s official said Wednesday.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Schwartz said California Bail Bonds Services Inc. and Eveready Bonds Inc. have failed to return property used to secure bail bonds after learning that criminal cases have been dismissed.

The companies, owned and operated by Eugene and Ruth Steckly of Thousand Oaks, have also accepted mortgages and other trust deeds to secure bail bonds that were either forged or did not belong to the person offering it as collateral, he said.

Eugene Steckly strongly denied the 22 allegations of wrongdoing contained in the lawsuit.

“Everything is upfront and there is nothing wrong,” the 57-year-old businessman said.

He said he always returns property used to secure bail bonds within 30 days after a person has been exonerated by the court. As for accepting mortgages from people who do not own the property, Steckly said his company cross-checks every transaction against county property tax records.

Schwartz said prosecutors began investigating the businesses after receiving numerous consumer complaints. He said his office tried to mediate the matter, but decided to file the lawsuit after detecting a pattern of misconduct by the bail bond companies.