A firm that provides services to immigrants in federal custody was ordered Tuesday to pay more than $811 million in reparations and penalties after a lawsuit claimed it employed deceptive and abusive practices.
Nexus Services must pay around $231 million in restitution as well as fines of $13.8 million to New York, $7.1 million to Virginia, and $3.4 million to Massachusetts, according to a judgment entered in federal court for the Western District of Virginia in Harrisonburg. The Virginia-based corporation, its subsidiary Libre by Nexus, and its three executives must all pay over $111 million in civil penalties.
“This judgment is a victory for thousands of immigrant families who lost their life savings and were targeted and preyed upon by Libre,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement. “Libre exploited vulnerable immigrants and their families to pad its pockets, and that is illegal and unconscionable.”
James joined state attorneys general in Virginia and Massachusetts, as well as the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, in a complaint filed in 2021 accusing the corporation of breaking state and federal consumer protection laws.
According to the officials, the company claimed to secure immigrants’ release on bail while their immigration applications were processed, but then disguised and misrepresented the true nature and costs of its services. They claimed the corporation charged hundreds of dollars in fees that exceeded the face value of the bonds and compelled immigrants to wear unpleasant ankle monitors.
U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Dillon stated in her order that the company is not a qualified bail bond agency or a surety company certified by the US Treasury, but rather a “service provider that acts as an intermediary between immigration detainees and sureties and their bond agents.”
The corporation stated in a statement that it expects to challenge the decision, calling it a “shocking departure from normal American jurisprudence” because it was made “without evidence, without a trial, and without a damages hearing.”
“We continue to remain committed to serving our clients – people who suffer and sacrifice for a better life, and who do not deserve to be political pawns in an American legislature or an American courtroom,” the business said in a statement.