An unlicensed agent in Hacienda Heights, CA has been detained for allegedly pocketing nearly $500,000 in insurance premium payments.
Officials said that Ai Ling Lee, 60, is facing nine felony counts of grand theft.
Lee, also known as Linda Lee, is the owner and operator of Jubilee Insurance Services. The firm was issued a cease and desist order in August 2018 by the California Department of Insurance (CDI), and the department revoked the firm’s business license in December 2018.
CDI announced the charges against Lee on Wednesday, CBSN Los Angeles reported. The department said that despite being revoked of a business license, she was falsely acting as an insurance agent through her company and leaving her clients uninsured. Lee has also been accused of altering declaration pages to dupe clients into thinking they had liability, property, or workers’ compensation insurance.
The fraudulent agent also allegedly forged her clients’ signatures on finance agreements.
Lee’s clientele included restaurants, construction companies, and biochemical companies, the CDI explained.
“My department is dedicated to investigating and shutting down unscrupulous agents who abuse the trust of unsuspecting clients,” California insurance commissioner Ricardo Lara said in a statement.
