KRGV.com

BROWNSVILLE - Customers of La Feria's Park Girl hope to settle out of court and get some of their money back.

Some customers already have settled out of court, but not with Jo Leigh Ares.

Many of the customers claiming theft and fraud said they don't know where to find help.

"We're having to clear all that up. It's difficult to settle when you don't know who to settle with," said Raul Noriega with the Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid. The organization is helping plaintiffs in the case.

"I got two file cabinets full of paperwork on this," Noriega said.

Ares faces more than a dozen felony and misdemeanor charges in Cameron County.

"That's the criminal part of it," he said.

Those chares are followed by civil claims, he said.

More than 70 people are suing Ares. They claim she took their money and never delivered mobile homes or clean titles to those homes.

"We have filed complaints for all the people that never got a home at all," Noriega said.

Ares tried blocking that lawsuit earlier this year, but a judge ruled the case could proceed.

"Then there's the bankruptcy protection that the Park Girl has filed," Noriega said.

Ares' attorney said earlier this year they are working to fix the problems. He said they want to make sure the funds goes to the people who lost their money.

Ares hasn't paid any money back.

The nearly dozen customers who settled out of court did so with the finance companies.