Three Central Californians who normally earn an honest wage assisting individuals in getting out of jail now find themselves behind bars, with little hope of making bail anytime soon. Yesterday authorities arrested Aleo J. (A.J.) Pontillo, 40, of Modesto, Calif, owner of AJ's Bail Bonds, and bail agent and office manager Janelle M. Llorens, 27, also of Modesto, for an elaborate—and very illegal—scheme in which they kidnapped clients for the purpose of extortion and insurance fraud.
The unscrupulous licensed bail agents had no intention of serving anyone but themselves, and their swift arrests should serve as a forewarning to any would-be scammers.
“The arrests should send a very clear message,” said California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones. “The severity of their alleged crimes will simply not be tolerated.”
Recommended For You
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
