Crime

Press Room: Expunging Criminal Records: Learn the In’s and Out’s of Clearing a Criminal Record

Published

8 years ago

February 18, 2019

By Dallas Post Tribune Staff

Cass Robert Callaway, a practicing criminal defense lawyer who represents individuals accused of misdemeanor and felony charges, will be the presenter for the February Lunch & Learn Series class at Frazier House. The class is February 21 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., at Frazier House, 4600 Spring Avenue.

He will provide participants with strategies on how to clear their criminal records. His discussion will focus on:

effective strategies for preserving/allowing for criminal record clearing eligibility
a view of the criminal record clearing process
alternatives to getting around criminal record history when record clearing isn’t an option
the do’s and don’ts of online criminal record databases/mug shot scam sites
practical ways of getting criminal records cleared with an eye toward your finances

Callaway will discuss also how you can be an effective advocate for legislative and policy changes in your community, at work, and in your sphere of influence – to make criminal record clearing more available to people fighting for a second chance.

Cass Robert Callaway is a practicing criminal defense lawyer. He also serves as local counsel for the online record clearing law firm – Higbee & Associates (www.recordgone.com). He has managed the filing and resolution of hundreds of expunctions, non-disclosures and motions to set aside conviction. He also serves as the presiding municipal judge in Hutchins, TX and the alternate municipal judge in Addison. He attended and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, worked in politics in Washington, D.C. for several years, returned to Texas to attend law school at Texas Tech School of Law, and now resides in Dallas operating his practice – The Law Office of Cass Callaway.

To register: https://www.zwhjcoc.org/classes-expunge/

The classes are free and open to the public. Bring your lunch; we will provide the drinks. For more information, email: info@zwhjcoc.org or call Jasmine Anderson at 214.324.4443.

###

Zan Wesley Holmes Jr. Community Outreach Center

The Zan Wesley Holmes Jr. Community Outreach Center is a nonprofit organization creating self-sustaining pathways out of poverty for young people and families in Dallas, Texas, through education and job placement.

Frazier House Frazier House is an initiative of the Zan Wesley Holmes, Jr. Community Outreach Center. It is located on the first floor of the newly renovated former Julia C. Frazier Elementary School. It offers multiple services in one building partnering and collaborating with other community nonprofits, service organizations and the Dallas ISD. This shared space will offer access to educational, social services, job skills training and job placement opportunities for Frazier House Clients

This article originally appeared in the Dallas Post Tribune.

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AG Bonta Announces Action on Cryptocurrency, Sextortion Fraud – Increasingly Targeting Gen-Z

California Attorney General Rob Bonta is warning residents about a surge in cryptocurrency fraud and online sextortion schemes that increasingly target Gen Z through social media platforms. With internet-based scams costing Americans nearly $21 billion in 2023, Bonta highlighted how artificial intelligence and deepfakes allow criminals to impersonate loved ones and promote fraudulent investment groups. The Attorney General’s Office has already shut down over 100 fraudulent websites and is now utilizing new legislative tools to recover assets for victims. Read more.

Published

3 days ago

November 3, 2026

Post News Group

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

California Attorney General Rob Bonta warned residents about rising cryptocurrency fraud and online sextortion scams, urging Californians to recognize warning signs and protect themselves as scammers increasingly target younger people through social media.

Speaking at a news conference on Oct. 19, Bonta said Americans lost $20.9 billion to internet-based scams in 2025, including $11.4 billion to cryptocurrency scams. He said artificial intelligence, deepfakes, and malicious smart contracts have made fraud easier to carry out and more difficult to detect and prevent.

While older Californians remain targets, Bonta said his office has seen a sharp rise in reports of Gen Z consumers being targeted on platforms such as Twitch, TikTok, and Instagram.

One growing scheme involves so-called rug-pull scams, in which fraudsters promote low-priced stocks or volatile cryptocurrencies through online investment groups and streaming communities. After generating interest and driving up prices, scammers sell their holdings, causing values to collapse and leaving investors with losses.

Bonta also warned about sextortion, in which scammers trick or coerce victims into sharing explicit images before threatening to distribute them to friends and family unless they pay. He advised victims not to give in to demands, saying scammers often do not release the images when victims refuse to pay. Instead, he recommended ignoring and blocking the perpetrators.

Another scheme, known as recovery fraud, targets people who have already lost money to cryptocurrency scams. Fraudsters impersonate blockchain recovery specialists or law enforcement officials and demand additional payments while promising to recover stolen assets.

Bonta urged Californians to be skeptical of promises of large returns on small investments, fake cryptocurrencies resembling established ones, and celebrity endorsements that may have been generated using artificial intelligence. He also warned that scammers can use AI to impersonate loved ones through manipulated video and audio.

“Never use a crypto ATM,” Bonta said, emphasizing that transactions can be difficult to trace and reverse and that the machines lack adequate consumer protections.

His office has shut down more than 100 fraudulent websites over the past two years that collectively scammed victims out of at least $8.3 million, he said.

Bonta also highlighted Senate Bill 1208, which he said was recently signed into law. The measure allows law enforcement to petition a court to return seized cryptocurrency to victims, including when alleged perpetrators are outside U.S. jurisdiction.

Residents who have fallen victim to scams can report them to the California Department of Justice at oag.ca.gov/report.

Bonta also urged victims not to feel embarrassed, stressing that scammers are responsible for the harm they cause.