Yousef Kassim was a student at Trinity University in San Antonio when he was unlawfully arrested for a minor offense. While the charge was completely dismissed, the arrest remained on his record.
“It didn’t prevent me from seeking employment in finance but was showing up in an employer background check which made for an awkward discussion with my employer that could have easily been avoided,” Kassim explained. He had the arrest expunged from his record.
After earning his Juris Doctor from St. Mary’s School for Law, Kassim saw a niche for a service to help others who needed to get their records expunged. He founded Easy Expunctions in Austin in 2014 and serves as its CEO. Its product went live in 2015.
DEMYSTIFIED THE PROCESS
“You could always file pro-se like I did, and that is precisely what we help our customers do. However, we have demystified the process and provided additional tools to help pro-se litigants to be successful,” said Kassim.
“We generate the proper documents, get them electronically filed and provide support throughout the process and guarantee the outcome if we determine the client is eligible.”
Prices range from $249 to $599 depending on the level of service the customer needs.
“We describe it as providing a clear path to a clear record,” said Kassim.
“The expunctions are typically for non-convictions. Such as people who were arrested and the charges were dismissed, or they were found not guilty by a judge or jury. It could be a situation where they were arrested and there was a no-bill and charges were never filed but the record still shows up in a background check. It could be that their mug shot is online. The expunction lets clients deny the arrest occurred and prohibits others from possessing or distributing the arrest information.”
Kassim said expunctions of convictions, including, DWI are more difficult with less relief available. “Sometimes the type of offense factors in as well as the time elapsed. Some jurisdictions also consider the totality of someone’s record.”
“We are empowering individuals to accomplish this procedure effectively and to provide tools they need to get the maximum benefit of their expunction. So, when somebody gets an expunction, they acquire two main rights – the right to deny and the right to prohibit other people from distributing that information,” said Kassim.
“We also made it a more effective outcome by sending notice to private companies so that our customers receive the maximum value of their expunction by clearing it off the internet not just on the government level.”
JUSTICE THROUGH DATA
Easy Expunctions was a finalist in the 2019 Duke Law Tech Lab Demo Day. “They leverage technology to create a comprehensive impact – from expunctions to scrubbing records from background check companies, for example – for members of our communities experiencing the collateral consequences of an arrest or criminal conviction,” said Jeff Ward, Tech Lab Director.
Today, the company has 24 employees and operates in six states including North Carolina. Long term, the company is looking to expand its services nationwide.
“We closed an equity financing last year and are focused on deployment of this capital and continuing to accomplish the milestones we have identified to set us up for continued growth,” said Kassim.
“We very much look at this business as a B2C engine that is driving a much larger B2B vision where we can develop other products and promote our vision of justice through data.”
For more information, visit easyexpunctions.com or call (210) 816-6655.
