View this article online: https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southcentral/2012/12/11/273509.htm
Louisiana’s Legislative Auditor has released a scathing report alleging that former St. Bernard Parish Clerk of Court Lena Torres failed to collect $174,300 in court fees from her son, attorney Sidney D. Torres III.
The 86-page report says the clerk did not collect advance court costs for at least some of the 581 civil suit filings by her son related to insurance claims and damages caused by Hurricane Katrina.
The clerk also allegedly failed to charge or collect fees from her son on 23 suits, which should have totaled $4,830.
By allegedly allowing her son to not pay advance fees for two years, the audit says Lena Torres may have provided a “loan of public funds,” a violation of the state constitution.