Agency accused of illegally keeping probationers on financial hook

Jamie Satterfield knoxnews.com

Agency accused of illegally keeping probationers on financial hook

A service organization is facing two federal civil rights lawsuits for allegedly padding its budget by illegally extending probationary sentences for clients.

The East Tennessee Human Resources Agency Inc. is named in two lawsuits filed in U.S. District Court on behalf of two former clients, Corey Lawrence and Zachary Zapata, both of Loudon County. The lawsuits make the same claim — to continue to collect supervision fees, ETHRA kept the pair on a legal leash long after their probationary sentences had expired.

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ETHRA contracts with Loudon County to provide supervision of probationers involved in petty crimes. ETHRA earns $45 per month per probationer for its services. The agency also earns money by charging probationers for drug tests. The lawsuits allege ETHRA makes sure its fees are paid before applying probationers’ payments to court costs and fines.

A judge can legally extend an offender’s probation if he or she still owes court costs and fines, which boosts ETHRA’s collection of supervision fees. But the lawsuits allege the agency has gone one step further — lengthening an offender’s probationary period without legal authority.

“These practices are done in order to continue collecting past, current and future fees from individuals, including probation supervision fees owed to ETHRA,” the lawsuits state.

An attempt to reach an ETHRA representative was unsuccessful.

Although the lawsuits involve two Loudon County probationers, attorneys Alan Moore, Cameron Bell and John Stanford Young allege ETHRA carries out the same scheme in other counties with which it contracts to provide probation supervision.

According to the lawsuits, probationers are threatened with arrest if they don’t sign an order extending their probationary period. The probationers are not given benefit of counsel, although most have lawyers assigned to their cases, or benefit of a hearing.

In Lawrence’s case, his probationary term legally ended in September 2012. ETHRA, however, had Lawrence sign orders extending his probation and the fees he paid the agency. In July 2014, ETHRA probation officer Nicci Smith issued a warrant for Lawrence’s arrest alleging he violated his probation, legally over 22 months earlier, and he was ordered jailed for 60 days. A month into his sentence, an attorney reviewing his case realized Lawrence’s probation had long run out, and a judge set him free.

Zapata, too, signed orders extending his probation without being afforded legal advice or a hearing. He also was arrested as a result of an ETHRA probation violation charge after his probationary sentence already had expired. He lost his job and spent 13 days in jail before a judge dismissed the violation as legally void.

Each lawsuit seeks a permanent injunction against ETHRA barring the agency from allegedly lengthening probationary periods without legal authority. Lawrence is asking for more than $13 million in damages. Zapata wants $5 million.