SAN ANTONIO — New court documents are revealing disturbing allegations against San Antonio attorney Neil Calfas, including claims that he coerced a woman into having sex with him in exchange for helping her jailed brother.
Calfas, 56, was arrested Wednesday after Texas Department of Public Safety investigators raided the Calfas Law Group office along Broadway near East Houston Street.
He is charged with solicitation of prostitution and human trafficking.
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The human trafficking charge is a second-degree felony and stems from an alleged encounter on March 8, 2024, according to the arrest report.
Investigators said the case developed while they were reviewing numerous recorded jail phone calls involving a male inmate being held in the Guadalupe County Jail. The inmate’s name was withheld in the affidavit.
According to the arrest report, the inmate frequently spoke with his adult sister, identified by investigators under the pseudonym “Julie.” He also spoke with Calfas, who investigators identified as a local criminal defense attorney practicing in Guadalupe and Bexar counties.
Investigators said a March 5, 2024 jail call indicated Julie had contacted Calfas seeking legal help for her brother.
During the call, Julie allegedly told her brother that Calfas had given her the impression she would need to become sexually involved with him. Investigators said Julie initially refused and told her brother she was on her period, but Calfas allegedly gave her money to pay for a phone and rent.
Julie described in the arrest report another conversation in which Calfas allegedly indicated he would help her brother legally, but that she would not be allowed to “run off” on him. Investigators said Julie initially declined to be touched by Calfas but later told her brother she decided to “go along with it” because she believed Calfas could help get him out of jail.
Three days later, on March 8, the inmate asked Julie during another recorded call whether she planned to pay for his legal help with money or “the other way,” according to the arrest report. Julie later went alone to Calfas’ law office, investigators said.
Julie told her brother after the meeting that Calfas gave her two choices for payment, either her or money, and told her “just nobody else; just you or the money.” Julie allegedly told her brother she “risked it,” which investigators said meant she had sexual contact with Calfas in exchange for legal assistance for her brother.
Investigators said Julie also expressed regret after the encounter and said she was trying not to vomit. According to the arrest report, her brother told her he would not put her in that situation again.
Investigators later interviewed a woman described as an associate of Julie who said Julie told her she had been sexually involved with Calfas to pay for legal services for someone else. A man described as a former close friend of Julie also told investigators she had said she engaged in sexual conduct with Calfas to get legal help for her brother, according to the arrest report.
Investigators said they also reviewed court and parole records and found no indication Calfas ever became the inmate’s attorney, assisted in his defense or helped secure his release on bond. According to the arrest affidavit, Calfas told the inmate that “it would be best” to have a court-appointed attorney evaluate his case and possibly have Calfas assist later. Calfas then allegedly said he did not want to assist because the inmate was “light on funds.”
The arrest report alleges Calfas “enticed Julie to engage in sexual conduct” by offering legal representation or assistance for her brother. Investigators allege Julie agreed to the sexual conduct but Calfas never provided the promised legal help.
The new allegations are separate from details contained in the solicitation of prostitution case previously reported.
In that case, investigators said a Snapchat video from May 2024 allegedly showed Calfas engaging in sexual activity with two women inside an office and later handing one of them a stack of cash. A caption on the video allegedly read, “The deed is done.” Investigators said Snapchat location data placed the video at or near the Broadway address of the Calfas Law Group.
Investigators said they reviewed thousands of Snapchat files and found evidence indicating both women were involved in commercial sex work. CashApp records allegedly showed several payments from Calfas to one of the women beginning in 2023 and continuing into late 2024.
DPS investigators raided Calfas’ downtown office Wednesday, removing boxes, files, laptops and other evidence before taking him into custody.