Texas Democratic State Rep. Ron Reynolds will plead no contest to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s office after being arrested on barratry, or ambulance chasing, charges Tuesday, according to KHOU Texas.
Investigators say Reynolds and eight other Houston-area lawyers were involved in a scheme to "sign up clients for traffic accidents." Kickbacks ranged from $600 to over $6,000.
Reynolds and the other attorneys are accused of paying kickbacks to Robert Valdez, the alleged ringleader of the operation. Prosecutors said Valdez routinely scour accident reports, then approach and aggressively persuade crash victims to sign contracts for legal representation.
"We have information from a confidential informant, that Ron Reynolds delivered cash in envelopes to Mr. Valdez, in exchange for referring clients to him on numerous occasions," said Phil Grant, first assistant Montgomery County district attorney. …
Grant called the operation "extremely well-organized and prolific" and estimated Valdez signed up hundreds of clients for hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks every year.
Reynolds faced similar charges last year, but the case was dropped.
