I was charged more than $600 for “sleeping outdoors” while homeless – money taken from account without due process (Marin County, CA)

by Alexandra Wilson 09/28/2019

       August 2013 Alexandra Wilson  was cited for “camping within city limits” by Officer J. Bean while homeless in San Rafael, CA.  The following spring Marin County Enhanced Collections informed Ms. Wilson she owed $548 for the incident.  After explaining the circumstances to Collections Manager Erica Hellmold Ms. Wilson was under the impression the fines were waived, however years later in January 2019 $610.99 was extracted from her bank account!  Ms. Wilson found out via her bank statement (click to enlarge):

     Bank of America told Ms. Wilson to contact California Franchise Tax Board to find out about this “court-ordered debt,” however the bank did not have a copy of the court order on file.  California Franchise Tax Board also did not have a copy of the court order, and instead told Ms. Wilson to contact Marin County Enhanced Collections regarding the debt.  Again she found herself speaking with Collections Manager Erica Hellmold, who informed her that they, too, did not have a copy of the court order on file, and that she needed to contact Marin County Superior Court to obtain a copy.

     The court told Ms. Wilson they have no case number or court order associated with the alleged debt because records for all cases are destroyed after five years. 

     Ms. Wilson claims because she never received a fair hearing her right to due process was violated.  She is seeking to sue the City of San Rafael, County of Marin, California Franchise Tax Board, and Bank of America for extrinsic fraud, but has not yet found legal assistance.  Contact [email protected].

     Read the unabridged timeline and addendum below to view all the details.

Marin County timeline PDF
Aug. 2013 – Jan. 2019

Addendum:

Sept 24, 2019 – A $125 “legal order fee” was extracted from Ms. Wilson’s account by Bank of America, thereby overdrawing her account -$20.

Sept 30, 2019, 12:53 a.m. – Bank of America employee Emanuel reversed $125, but was unable to reverse the Jan. 11 fee.  He transferred Ms. Wilson to Supervisor “Katherine” who informed her that because the full amount of the levy was not able to extracted on Jan. 11, this second fee was attached during the attempt to recover the remaining amount due.  She informed MS. Wilson that Bank of America would continue to attempt to recover the remaining balance, and each time will attach a $125 fee each time.  Ms. Wilson closed her bank account until this issue is resolved.  She is requesting legal assistance and donations from the community at large to hep her recover and to ensure other homeless people aren’t harassed and hurt in this same manner.