LOS ANGELES— On April 7, 2021, unlicensed insurance agent Ai Ling Lee, also known as Linda Lee, 61, of Hacienda Heights, was convicted of nine felony counts of grand theft after stealing nearly half a million dollars from her small business clients’ insurance premium payments.

An investigation by the California Department of Insurance (CDI) found Lee, as owner-operator of Jubilee Insurance Services, acted as an insurance agent to steal $450,000 in premium payments even though she was not properly licensed by CDI. She accepted premium payments from her clients to place liability, property or workers’ compensation insurance coverage, but either failed to place coverage or allowed the coverage to lapse for nonpayment leaving nine restaurants, construction companies and biochemical companies at risk of uninsured losses.

Lee was convicted and sentenced to serve two years of probation and to pay $414,910 in restitution to her victims.

“This case should put unlicensed agents and those stealing premiums from clients on notice that CDI investigators are hard at work protecting consumers,” said California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) President Alan Barcelona.  “Investigators work with local district attorneys to assist with prosecutions which can result in prison sentences and restitution.”

In order to inflate premium payments and hide her embezzlement, Lee altered declaration pages for several clients. The premium payments collected by Lee were either not remitted to insurance carriers or only partially paid. Lee also forged clients’ signatures on finance agreements in order to finance some of the insurance premiums without her clients’ knowledge or consent.

The Department of Insurance issued a Cease and Desist Order against Lee on August 7, 2018, and revoked her business’, Jubilee Insurance Services, license on December 1, 2018.