SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – The owner of a bail bonds company out of Central Florida has been arrested on charges of human trafficking and racketeering, according to the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation.
In a release, MBI officials said that the owner — Russell “Bruce” Moncrief of Moncrief Bail Bonds — came under investigation in October 2021.
The investigation came after local attorney John Gillespie was arrested on similar human trafficking charges in 2020, the release shows.
“Victims of Gillespie alleged that they had to have sex with Bruce Moncrief... in exchange for being bonded out of jail or in exchange for others being bonded out of jail,” the release reads.
According to investigators, MBI agents met with several women who told them it was “common knowledge” that this sort of practice happened.
“Moncrief used his position as a bail bondsman to solicit acts of prostitution or coerce women into having sex with him,” the release adds. “If a female refused to have sex, she would not be bonded out or her bond was revoked.”
In addition, investigators said they found evidence that Moncrief had been engaging in these practices for over a decade. As a result, the MBI served search warrants at Moncrief Bail Bond offices in Orange, Osceola and Brevard counties in August 2024.
On Monday, Moncrief was arrested and booked into the Seminole County Jail without bond. He faces charges of racketeering (over using his bail bond business for allegedly criminal affairs) and three counts of human trafficking, the release states.
This is an ongoing investigation. Anyone who has been a victim of this practice is urged to contact the MBI at (407) 836-9701.
No additional information has been provided at this time.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: