Quanell X owes $345K to individuals and families who say he took cash for advocacy he didn't perform Yamil Berard, Houston Chronicle
Aug. 24, 2022
Updated: Aug. 24, 2022 11:52 a.m.
When Mary Wiltz lost guardianship of her 5-year-old grandson, she called influential Houston activist Quanell X to help get him back home to Beaumont.
Cambron Wiltz had been placed in a foster home when he was born with cocaine in his system because his mother, Wiltz’s daughter, was using drugs, court documents show. He was then placed with Mary Wiltz when he was 6 months old. But Wiltz lost custody after the foster family petitioned to have Cambron returned in 2014.
Quanell told her that he would uncover what happened in the courtroom so Cambron could return home, court documents show. He would do this using his signature fiery style of publicity at news conferences and protests.
All she had to do was pay up — three payments totaling $17,500.
More than five years later, Wiltz is still waiting for Quanell's help.
“He did nothing to help me after I paid him all that money,” she said. “I still don’t have my child back.”
For decades, Quanell X Abdul Farrakhan, 51, has been considered by many as the standard-bearer of social consciousness in Houston. He cultivated a reputation that many consider well-earned. He fought for those who suffered police violence, unfair evictions and racial discrimination in the workplace.
But a Houston Chronicle investigation — which included a review of hundreds of court documents, copies of contracts and cashed checks, as well as interviews with dozens of individuals and former close allies of Quanell — found the activist repeatedly accepted cash in exchange for advocacy, then didn’t fulfill his promises.
Families said they sought his help after watching him on TV news, galvanizing crowds or as a guest on Fox 26 Houston Faceoff, a show that features local leaders debating news events of the day.
Once they contacted him, he would quickly earn their trust with vows to investigate and learn the truth about what happened. In some cases, the community leader also pledged to make sure authorities would be held accountable for wrongdoing.
But often just the opposite occurred, more than a dozen people said. When he did not deliver on his promises, they said he left them feeling duped.
In an examination of court records from 2012 to 2018, at least nine individuals and families sued Quanell for breach of contract and related issues.
Petitions filed in civil and justice of the peace courts in Harris County show that plaintiffs sought to recover money they had paid to Quanell. The Chronicle also spoke to others who told a similar story but said they didn’t have resources to file suit to recover money.
In recent months, Quanell has been at the center of a number of court actions.
In June, a Houston woman reached an undisclosed settlement against him after she filed a lawsuit in the 281st Civil District Court. Her 2018 suit stated Quanell did not deliver on services to assist in the release of her incarcerated brother.
A similar case — brought by another family in Houston — is set for trial in a Harris County civil court early next year.
And in July, Quanell failed to respond to a court order to appear at a deposition to assist in the debt collection of a six-figure judgment awarded to Wiltz.
Among the findings in the Chronicle investigation:
From 2012 to 2018, in four of the nine lawsuits, individuals and families were awarded judgments that allowed them to pursue Quanell for repayment for services they say he never performed. The judgments, which are accumulating interest and court costs, now add up to more than $345,000, court records show.
In each of the four judgments, families and individuals were not paid because Quanell did not respond to court orders to provide information about his assets and sources of income for collection purposes.
Wiltz holds the largest award. In 2018, she was awarded $200,000 under a judgment issued by the Harris County Civil Court of Law No. 1. As of August, the judgment reached $330,000, according to a special court-appointed officer.
To enforce the judgment awarded to Wiltz, the court ordered the special officer — called a turnover receiver — in July 2019 to collect the judgment. As one of the most aggressive debt collection practices in the nation, the appointment of the receiver enables the court officer to conduct bank searches to gain access to real property and assets that are owned by Quanell, court records show.
{Really long article continues at Chron.com} 
