SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — A local bondsman accused of using his position to get sexual favors from female inmates appeared before a Seminole County Judge Wednesday afternoon.
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Seventy-five-year-old Russell “Bruce” Moncrief is facing human trafficking and racketeering Charges.
He is being held on no bond at the Seminole County Jail until he can be transferred to Orange County, where the charges stem.
According to a 173-page report from the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation (MBI), the long-time bail bondsman developed a pattern of targeting female inmates and bonding them out of local jails in exchange for sex.
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In some cases, investigators said he would sell the women to other buyers and even threatened to revoke their bond to get the women to submit to the sexual favors.
The documents show the MBI spent 3 years working on the case.
In total, the MBI identified 26 possible victims and numerous other potential witnesses.
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According to the documents, agents tracked Moncrief to meetings with women at motels, a waffle house, and a Cocoa building where Moncrief stored bond documents and kept an extra bed.
Over the course of the investigation, agents also listened in on Moncrief’s phone calls, interviewed victims, and conducted surveillance.
Investigators met with numerous women who stated they had to exchange sexual favors with Moncrief to be bonded out of jail and that it was common knowledge among inmates in the jail that this practice occurred.
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According to the documents, the first tip about Moncrief’s behavior came to investigators in 2011.
Several allegations were even brought to the Florida Department of Financial Services.
The documents show that Officials with the Department of Financial Services told the MBI they attempted to conduct several audits.
The documents say during those attempts to conduct audits, files for some clients were missing.
Following Moncrief’s court appearance Wednesday, Moncrief’s attorney Rose Feller said he denied all the allegations.
“He looks forward to proving his innocence in court,” said Feller.
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