Warning: Texas law firm solicits registrants in Florida
Scam Directed at Registered Sex Offenders
We have received several emails from members advising us that they have received a letter from a law firm in Texas, Estes-Hightower, PLLC stating they “received their contact information” from the state’s Public Safety Sex Offender Registry” and to contact them to see whether they are eligible for “early removal from the Sex Offender Registry”.
Be VERY cautious about these opportunists who market service to registrants.
***UPDATE – THIS FIRM IS SOLICITING A $5000 RETAINER FROM REGISTRANTS, A COPY OF THE “RETAINER AGREEMENT” WAS SHARED WITH US, THE AGREEMENT DOES NOT OFFER ANY SCOPE OF LEGAL SERVICES AND IS GOVERNED BY TEXAS LAW.
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In red capitalized letters it says ADVERTISEMENT. It is garbage that someone is getting people hopes up and money like this but due to that one word these scumbags will probably suffer no consequences.
Also I just looked this Joseph Chloupek state bar # 434590 up on the Florida Bar website. Nothing came up.
My son just received the same letter. He is on the road trying to make a living and being nailed by everyone across this great country of ours. He still doesn’t know what he did wrong. He was railroaded by the county to justify their sting operation. We were going to try a lawyer in town to get him off the list. This is ridculous for people to go thru this when they have paid their debt to society. Just isn’t right. Someone should start some kind of action. My son had never been in a police station before they arrested him. He was like a fish out of water. Other convicts when they have served their time aren’t labeled.
Several of us registered offenders here in Georgia have recieved this same letter. It states that they are filing a suit in the Federal court on the grounds that the Georgia sex offender registry is unconstitutional.
I had my phone call from a Georgia Attorney (a associate of Estes-Hightower?)
Of course wanting $5,000.00 or $1,000.00 down and $150.00 a month. We are in the process of contacting the A.C.L.U. to find out more on this issue. If there was something this big I would think they would be right on it.
Im starting to think scam too!
It would be a great thing to have the Florida and the Georiga sex offender registry found unconstitutional!
Good you caught on!
It’s definitely a rip off I got the same letter they’re full of shit there in Texas they can’t do nothing here
Keep getting also this letter from their branch in Atlanta.SO GLAD I found this website – to see that this so-called law firm – is running this racket nationwide.The only way to get off the registry is for the legislators to set up new laws to make to make the state registries to operate as they were originally intended – release only those on it that have have met the recommended post time . No filing to get off registry needed after that.UNTIL that form of prison reform is instituted – scams like this will continue to prey on registered sex offenders who are still on the registry 10 years or more though they haven’t even gotten a jay walking ticket.
Ms. Estes-Hightower’s lawsuit in Texas has been dismissed . No surprise here. To those of you who enriched her, I’m sorry. Good luck trying to get a refund. Beware however: she’s now seeking additional funding for an appeal and to fund the filing of the same lawsuit again. In a solicitation email, she is also now falsely stating the U.S. Supreme Court has already granted review in another case which presents an Ex Post Facto claim, Boyd v. Washington. The Boyd case will not even be considered for review by the Supreme Court until Friday, November 30, 2018, as shown by the Supreme Court’s web page.
Boyd v. Washington was denied cert. on December 10, 2018. However, a petition for cert. was docketed in Bethea v. North Carolina, an Ex Post Facto case not simply involving a homeless person as in Boyd, but instead requiring addressing the continued viability of Smith v. Doe as applied to a genuine “next generation” SOR statute with a plethora of residency, employment, and child-rearing restrictions, plus the usual “3 days to update information” in-person requirement that eliminates effective travel. Two amicus briefs on cert. were also filed in Bethea, and the state’s response and petitioner’s reply have been filed as well. That case is set for conference January 4, 2019. I predict Bethea to be the case the Supreme court chooses to reconsider Smith v. Doe. I do not predict the outcome if that happens; too many cross-currents of judicial philosophy and personal dynamics are in play.
Thanks for bringing that Cert Petition to our attention! I’ll write about it tomorrow.
No problem. We are on the same side in fighting these evil statutes. FYI, Estes-Hightower PLLC pled “insolvency” in stiffing all of its employees out of 6 weeks salary, terminating everyone’s employment December 1. Make your own judgments about the timing.
Holy Crap!
John Doe,
Your defense of this firm is a joke, to say the least.
TERRANCE is not licensed to practice in the State of Florida, first off.
Second, the person who IS licensed to practice in this State, to my knowledge has never won a case involving getting someone off the Fla. Registry. So, he is a “rookie” in this field, in this State. And to date, NO attorney has ever gotten anyone off the registry in Fla. EVER !
This firm has even looked to other attorneys, in other states, and were shut down. Also, a real, qualified attorney, would never slander another attorney; the only reason they would is because they are hiding something and are trying to deflect from the main issue of these people (TERRANCE) from bilking thousands of dollars off of innocent people with the “off chance” they might get off the list.
(My opinion)….. they are collecting money for a “lawsuit” in TEXAS; NOT for the people who are on the list in Florida.
I would tend to believe that changing the LAW, lobbying in the Fla Senate, or in Congress to change the law.
If TERRANCE IS to win this “class action suit” would she/could she guarantee the 5K back in monetary compensation at the completion and settlement of this so called lawsuit ?? I thought so.
Her website is a Personal Injury Attorney website. She is conning people out of money on a false promise.
Received a letter from this firm today, soliciting my participation in a class action suit. I was a bit excited at first, but wanted to check them out online before proceeding. This page was the first result, so I’m decidedly less excited.
My letter includes a Florida office address in Orlando and is signed by attorney Joseph Chloupek. It wasn’t until I saw the comment about a $5,000 retainer that I really noticed the line in my letter which states, ‘To retain our office, we can accept a down payment to get started immediately.’
Ah, well. Saves me the trouble of calling them. Thanks, all.
I just received a letter from them yesterday, 5-29-2018. Saying they were going to initiate a federal lawsuit for the Ex Post Facto. The letter said they got my name off the FDLE website. Also, they encouraged me a couple different times in the letter to retain them….hmmmm. I thought it sounded kinda fishy.
VERY!
We are STRONGLY discouraging involvement. We have our own suit.
I was also contacted. But after reading the post on here. I’m definitely not going forward but my brother is a state prosecutor in NY and I guess my mom told him to look into my case he doesn’t like me by the way but he said after reviewing the case that I definitely need to get a lawyer now it’s been 4 yrs and I’ve been clean all 4 of those years working hard on my fifth yr I don’t have the stupid sign in front of my house and I can go anywhere I want .my public defender was a sorry piece of work didn’t tell me the whole case just one thing I had no idea I had more then one thing pending against me till I too a plea deal I was in shock when the state prosecutor started with her statements I tried to recount and was told to shut up. I know there are people on the floor registration that have been on there for yrs but if you say is true please add me to the list
Just received a letter from Estes-Hightower PLLC, 14 E. Washington Street 2nd Floor Orlando, Florida 32801 More bottom feeders trying to exploit the already exploited??? Sick and pure evil if this is the case and they should be prosecuted……
I’ve been on the registry sense 1995 and have been locked up twice , once cause I missed my visit by a couple of days the other by not registering a job I didnt have… this is completely nonsense and even dough I dont have problems living next to a school which I did.. I do have a problem with people judging me as if I was a predator… I believe we should be separated from them as we are being judge cruelly as if we was pedophiles… I have paid my debts to society and there should be any reason why after so long I cant be removed… I have a wife and have raised my children and this has cast me to attempt to commit suicide… I shot myself and I thank God life has turn around for me but aways knowing that they are out there wanting to put you away bothers me,… i cant live a free life… my kids know my back ground. I just hope one day soon laws change…
Izzy, just so you know pedophile does not equal child molester. It also does not equal sex offender.