Orange County Bail Agent Found Guilty of Stealing

According to Alejandra Molina with the Orange County Register, bail bond agent Barbara Lianne Armstrong Petersen, 46, was sentenced to 90 days in jail and three years of formal probation for stealing $3,000 from a client.  In 2009 while working for Barbi’s Bail Bond Store, Barbara signed a bail bond contract with the parents of a female inmate in San Bernardino.  Barbara collected the 10% premium for the bond and also asked for $3,000 just in case their daughter decided to flee.  According to the District Attorney the $3,000 was to be returned to the parents once their daughter made all required court appearances.   The victim’s daughter appeared for all of her required hearings, her criminal case was resolved, and bail was exonerated, but the $3,000 was never returned to the family.  In October 2010, Petersen’s cousin’s husband, Terry McCarthy, was in Orange County Jail  for four separate criminal cases and was held on $720,000 bail, according to the District Attorney.  Petersen forged four bail bond documents, one for each of McCarthy’s criminal cases, in order to get him out of jail without him actually posting the money, prosecutors said. As a result, McCarthy was released from custody.  The insurance company responsible for paying the forfeited bail reviewed the bonds and determined that none of the four bond numbers were valid, according to the District Attorney.  Three of the bond numbers were previously used to bail out other inmates and one had not yet been issued by the insurance company.  For honest, ethical bail bond services call Penny Bail Bonds at 1-866-736-6977 Be Safe, Be Sober, Be Free!