C. Brown – Testimonial

That is what happened to C. Brown. Mr. Brown was in the process of turning his life around, but it was not an easy feat. He was incarcerated for a crime he committed in his youth, “a part of my life I will never forget,” he says, but one that he is also not proud of. “I took it farther than it needed to go,” Mr. Brown says.

When he was released from prison, Mr. Brown was trying to reestablish a life. He first found a place in transitional housing, and later moved out to a room he rented in an apartment in the Bronx. When a family member who had severe mental health struggles reached out to him, Mr. Brown decided that helping that family member navigate the shelter system is more important.

Throughout this time, while transferring to different shelters in different boroughs with this family member, Mr. Brown kept working as a personal care aide, and then as a peer mentor at an organization that provides housing and supporting services to the community. He took different classes – a computer skills class, an Aggression Replacement Training program, and even got a Commercial Driver’s License Permit. He also kept volunteering in the community all the while – at alternative to violence programs, counseling youth, and speaking out about the importance of reforming the criminal justice system.

In late 2019, Mr. Brown was late to a parole appointment, after traveling to the meeting from the shelter located a long subway ride away. The parole officer put a parole violation on his file, and Mr. Brown returned to prison, which was “safer than the shelters” at this point, according to him.

When he was released, Mr. Brown did not give up on the effort in turning his life around. In 2021, he was finally able to apply to an apartment in the Bronx. The apartment representative all but promised him the apartment would be his. Mr. Brown even waited for three months for the renovations to completed.

But then, the leasing agent informed him that his background check came back with a felony from 2020. Mr. Brown knew that this was a mistake. He did not have a felony from 2020, but a minor parole violation for being late to an appointment with his parole officer, for which he was sent back in for a few months. He went down to the courthouse and retrieved documents showing that he did not commit any felony in more than 27 years. He also disputed the information with the company that ran the background check and received a notification that his information was updated in their system. But the information was not updated, and Mr. Brown was denied the apartment.

But Mr. Brown is resilient. He was determined to make things happen for himself. So he googled “attorneys that sue for false criminal background checks" and got to Consumer Attorneys’ website. From there, things moved pretty quickly, and a couple of weeks later, Mr. Brown’s case was already submitted in federal court.

Now that his case against the background check company is settled, Mr. Brown is looking forward to continuing to re-build life after prison. He continues to work and volunteer in the community and is exploring business ventures that will allow him to earn a decent wage. Mr. Brown is now renting an apartment in Harlem, where he grew up, and says that every trip around the corner brings up childhood memories. Mr. Brown calls the feeling of living on his own “a real blessing.”

He says that it was the call from the head of litigation, David, that made him feel like Consumer Attorneys was the right fit for him. He also noted Kendra’s meticulous handling of every stage of his case. “The thing that was most important for me about bringing my case is that I wanted to feel like my lawyers understand. Working with Consumer Attorneys, I felt like everyone understood me, and that made all the difference.”

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