Local bail bondsman stripped of license and fined for failing to return money
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IDAHO FALLS — A local bail bondsman has surrendered his bail agent license and will pay a $6,000 fine for mismanaging money and collateral collected from clients.
The Idaho Department of Insurance announced Monday that Ryan James Smith with Atlas Bail Bonds in Idaho Falls was in breach of his financial duties due to irresponsibility.
Smith violated Idaho Code when he collected collateral from a client, but then failed to return it during the time allowed by law, according to a news release. Court documents show Smith collected more than $10,000 from a man who had been criminally charged in Clark County.
The Clark County man was later exonerated of the crime, and in May 2015. Smith was contacted to return the collateral, but he failed to do so within the required 14-day time period. He did eventually repay the $10,000 after 51 days.
Court documents show Smith comingled the collateral funds with money from other cases by making multiple transfers between several bank accounts. The money was used to pay personal and business expenses, which is a violation of Idaho Code.
“Idaho Code requires that agents deposit funds collected from clients into trust accounts that are separate and apart from any other funds,” Insurance Department Director Dean Cameron said in the news release. “Comingling funds is a breach of trust and is serious misconduct on the part of an agent.”
A similar incident occurred in Bonneville County in 2015, when Smith took $5,000 and did not return the funds after the client had been exonerated, the department said. That money had not been returned at the time court documents were filed.
State licensing records show Smith’s bail agent license — through Atlas Bail Bonds — had already expired in March 2014, prior to collecting money from the clients in Clark County or Bonneville County. It has not been renewed.
The department originally required Smith to pay $16,000 in fines; however, $10,000 was waived provided that Smith pays the $5,000 back to the Bonneville County client by April 30, 2016.
In a court stipulation, Smith agreed to pay the fines, and he will not be able to reapply for a bail agent license for two years.