Dozens of aspiring entrepreneurs hoping to own their own food trucks and build businesses lost nearly $1 million in a sprawling central California fraud scheme, prosecutors say.
Fernando Jauregui Ochoa, a 30-year-old Ceres man, operated 8A Food Trucks, which promised customers custom-built food trucks and trailers.
Many of the customers were immigrants who had saved money for years to create their own enterprises, according to the Los Angeles Times. They included farmworkers, chefs, caretakers, and construction workers, some of whom gave Ochoa their entire life savings.
Customers paid thousands of dollars for customized trucks and trailers, but prosecutors claim many of them were never built.
The Times previously reported on complaints against Ochoa and his company as early as 2024, when clients said they paid substantial sums of money for vehicles or trailers that were never delivered.
Others claimed they received faulty automobiles or that trailers they had purchased were later returned.
Ochoa denied a number of the charges at the time.
Paulina Quintal and her husband, Alejandro Gonzalez, owned Mi Casita Purepecha in San Bernardino and did business with Ochoa.
According to the pair, their conflict with Ochoa over a trailer contributed to the restaurant’s closure.
Quintal told The Times that many of Ochoa’s clients were farmworkers, with some borrowing money from family in Mexico to pursue their dream of running a food business.
As more complaints came in, the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office began receiving reports of potential consumer fraud concerning Ochoa’s business.
Following an initial examination, investigators from the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation, assisted by the Ceres Police Department, initiated a more extensive criminal investigation.
According to authorities, what they discovered extended far beyond a few angry clients.
Investigators eventually identified over 40 victims who had been conned out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Rather than using client contributions to create the food trucks they had requested, investigators discovered Ochoa squandered the money for drugs, holidays, and other personal luxuries.
Ochoa used social media to promote himself and his firm, creating a successful picture as clients tried to reclaim their money. His posts featured photographs of him riding jet skis and standing next to a black Corvette.
Some customers also claimed they were intimidated when trying to address their disputes.
Quintal and Gonzalez said that their altercation with Ochoa escalated to the point where they were threatened by two individuals brandishing guns at their restaurant’s drive-through. Ochoa previously told The Times that the two persons he dispatched to their San Bernardino restaurant were there to resolve payment concerns, not to frighten the couple.
Investigators apprehended Ochoa in April 2024. According to the District Attorney’s Office, he has remained in detention after posting $1 million in bail.
The criminal case concluded in Ochoa’s conviction on 18 charges of acquiring money by fraud, with the total sum involved said to be more than $500,000.
He was also convicted on one count of witness intimidation.
Prosecutors said Ochoa targeted vulnerable victims based on their immigration status, which aggravated the case.
“This case demonstrates the devastating impact fraud can have on unsuspecting victims,” Stanislaus County District Attorney Jeff Laugero said in a release. “These individuals trusted Ochoa with their life savings.”
“Instead, he exploited their trust and vulnerabilities and stole from them,” Laugero said.
The district attorney praised investigators for revealing the breadth of the scheme and identifying scores of victims who would otherwise have gone unpunished.
Ochoa’s sentencing hearing is planned on October 30, and prosecutors expect him to get a 20-year state prison sentence and be required to pay restitution to his victims.
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