Department of Insurance Investigation Leads to Arraignment of Orange County Bail Agents, California Department of Insurance, November 21, 2022

LOS ANGELES — Unlicensed bail agent Jimmy Mai, 35, of Irvine, and licensed bail agent Jonathan Lahmani, 42, of Orange, were each arraigned today in Los Angeles Superior Court on one felony count of negotiating bail without a license following an investigation by the California Department of Insurance. 

The investigation revealed Mai, who was denied a bail license by the Department in 2017, solicited an arrestee’s family members for bail services. Selling bail bonds and other forms of insurance without a license from the Department of Insurance is illegal under California law. Although the arrestee’s mother informed Mai that she had secured bail services elsewhere, a Bail Bonds Direct agent still posted the bond. 

Read the entire press release. 

NICB assisted the investigation.