Also arrested for suspicion of conspiracy to commit grand theft and perjury was Mark David Davis and Janelle Marie Llorens. Llorens was also charged with insurance fraud. It is not clear whether Davis and Llorens were employed by AJ’s Bail Bonds or what their connection might be to Pontillo. In 2008, AJ’s Bail Bond business was the concentration of a federal investigation.

Sergeant Anthony Bejaran, the Stanislaus County Jail sheriff’s spokesman, said Pontillo, Davis and Llorens were arrested without incident and being detained at the Stanislaus County Jail.

The arrests were sparked by a California Department of Insurance (DOI) investigation. The bail industry in California is regulated by the DOI. Dave Althausen, spokesman for the Department, said they couldn’t release any details yet, as they were “still coming in from agents in the field.”

The bail set for Davis was $500,000, and Llorens had a bail of $1 million.

FBI agents and gang task force members served a federal warrant and conducted a search at AJ’s Bail Bonds on December 23, 2008. They also searched the home of Pontillo for paperwork and files. There were no arrests made during this search.

The Central Valley Gang Impact Task Force helped federal agents in the search conducted in 2008. This task force unit is funded federally and is a countywide group who has members from other local law enforcement agencies and the FBI.

The FBI would not comment on whether or not there was any gang activity or any other details of the investigation with AJ’s Bail Bond business.

The defendant, Ronald Lee Brockway is being charged with two felonies for violating regulations of bail licensing. Brockway, if convicted, will lose his bail license and serve time in a state prison for a maximum sentence of three years and eight months.

According to a news release, Brockman had sent a multitude of emails to various attorneys asking them to take part in his illegal referral scheme. Prosecutors said that Brockman’s emails asked for attorneys to refer his Respect Bail Bond Company to clients, while he in turn would refer his clients to them, which would “increase both of our earnings substantially.” A California bondsman cannot refer to an attorney.

Further, Brockman is accused of conducting business with inmates using flyers mailed to inmates at the Orange County jail with his name, company and contact information, and also the statement “Get out of jail today by calling now!”

Interestingly back in October of 2005, Brockman testified against attorney Joseph Cavallo in a trial conducted under an Orange County Grand Jury hearing that stated he had received payments from Cavallo for referring accused defendants to Cavallo’s attorney office. According to prosecutors, Brockman was not charged for this because his testimony was used in prosecuting other defendants. Attorney Joseph Cavallo, however, was convicted after pleading guilty in October of 2007 with part help from Brockman’s testimony.

The DA’s Bureau of Investigation began the investigation on Brockman after the OC District Attorney received a phone call from a private attorney reporting the delivery of an email detailing Brockman’s illegal bail scheme.

Brockman’s bail is set at $50,000 upon waiting for his arraignment. Seems that Brockman has no Respect for the bail bonds industry.

Here are four ways to know if the bail bonds companies you are filtering through might be considered unethical or untrustworthy.

1. Undercutting Bail Premiums AKA Illegal Discounts: You’ve narrowed your search for a bondsman online. So you start calling to interview to see which one fits best . The first one you call sounds okay, but when you get to the point of discussing premium (the fee for the bond), they start mentioning discounts that no other bondsman will give you. Suggestion? Tell them, “Thank you for your time, I will get back to you.” Why are you hanging up on this bail bonds company? One word: “discount.” In most states, it is required by law to charge a 10% premium for bail. So if the bondsman is suggesting a discount in order to do business with you, they’re shady, unethical, and you would benefit to part ways with them. Most of the time this discount is the result of a “bait and switch” strategy by the bail bonds company. They get you in there with the “5% bail bonds” advertisement and you find out that its actually %10. The 5% is only for a down payment and the rest is financed with the bail bonds company. If the bondsman is really offering you 5% premium, he’s undercutting bail – which is illegal. The majority of ethical bail bonds companies out there will be very up front with you AND offer financing at any time, usually without interest.
2. Do Your Homework: The Better Business Bureau’s (BBB) website. If the company is reputable, they will actually have the BBB link on their site and usually on the first page. Companies that go the length to advertise this type of qualification on the first page of their site are not hiding anything. Which means they are usually a well run company and strive for customer service. On the BBB’s site you can quickly find out about any complaints that have been reported. You will not find “reviews” or “recommendations”; this is not the purpose of the BBB site. Its only purpose is to provide a place to qualify trust for working with a company. Reviews and recommendations can be found on popular sites like Yelp and Merchant Circle.
3. Soliciting Bail at the Jail: If you happen to visit the jail and are approached by a bail bondsman, tell them you don’t need their help. Laws prohibit a bondsman from hanging around the jails  to solicit business. Even if the bail bondsman “happened” to be in the area posting bail for another client, soliciting your business is prohibited by law. So if you happen to be confronted by the bail bondsman while visiting your loved one, politely tell them to get lost. You really don’t want to be associated with them anyway, since in essence, they are breaking the law.
4. Soliciting Bail By Phone: Your phone rings. You are surprised to hear on the other line, “Hi, this is Johnny of Marciano Bail Bonds. I was calling to see if I might help you with the detainee, Mark so-and-so?” My best suggestion if this happens is hang up. Why? This is likely another bondsman breaking the law. It’s illegal for a bail bondsman to “cold call” potential clients for the purpose of soliciting business. Likely, someone has gained unauthorized and illegal access to jail records and has looked you up via online investigative techniques. The law states that all bail bond agents must first be contacted by the proposed client, therefore if you get a call from an agent, and you haven’t even contacted any agents yet, hang up!

In the end, after you’ve qualified the company and it passes these Four Standards, trust your gut. Good luck!

Photocredit: © Lisa F. Young – Fotolia.com