Former California Insurance Broker Accused Of Stealing Premiums

A former insurance broker from Yorba Linda has been arrested and charged with 81 felony counts after investigators said he collected premiums from customers but failed to provide coverage and forged their insurance documents, California Department of Insurance officials said.

Juan Carlos Martinez, 56, a former insurance broker whose license expired in 2016 for failure to renew, operated Leeds Insurance Services Inc., which was based out of Orange. He has been accused of embezzling more than $27,000 from his customers, according to a news release from the agency this week.

Martinez is also accused of diverting the funds to a personal investment account, which he allegedly used to withdraw as cash.

He has been charged with 12 counts of grand theft, 34 felony counts of forgery, 34 counts of insurance fraud and one count of money laundering. Prosecutors allege his misconduct dated to 2011, court records show.

It was not immediately known how many victims there were or how long Martinez was operating his business.

Martinez was arrested by the Buena Park Police Department and booked into Orange County Jail, but released on bail. His arraignment is set for March.