O.C. Insurance Agent Arrested in Theft Case

A Newport Beach insurance agent who allegedly pocketed more than $400,000 in premiums and left a number of hotel and motel owners without coverage has been arrested on suspicion of grand theft. Timothy Allan Jones, 42, was arrested earlier this week in South Lake Tahoe and jailed in lieu of $1-million bail. He was transferred to Orange County Jail on Friday, authorities said. Jones is charged with three felony counts of grand theft. He faces up to five years in prison and undetermined fines if convicted. He was arrested following an investigation by Newport Beach police and the state Department of Insurance. Jones allegedly sold insurance polices to hotels and motels and then kept the premiums and did not forward the applications, an insurance department spokesman said. In several cases, he allegedly paid small claims himself to disguise the fact that the policies did not exist, authorities said.