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, a business that promised customers custom-built food trucks and trailers.
Many of the customers were immigrants who had spent years saving money to start businesses of their own, according to reporting by the Los Angeles Times. They included farmworkers, cooks, custodians and construction workers, some of whom entrusted Ochoa with what amounted to their entire life savings.
Customers paid thousands of dollars for custom trucks and trailers, but prosecutors say many of the vehicles were never built.
The Times previously reported on allegations involving Ochoa and his company as early as 2024, when customers described paying large sums of money for trucks or trailers they said were never delivered.
Others alleged they received unusable vehicles or that trailers they had purchased were later taken back.
Ochoa disputed a number of those allegations at the time.
Fernando Jauregui Ochoa, 30, a food truck builder was convicted in a sprawling fraud scheme where prosecutors say he stole nearly $1 million from his victims. (Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office)
Among those who did business with Ochoa were Paulina Quintal and her husband, Alejandro Gonzalez, who operated Mi Casita Purepecha in San Bernardino.
According to the couple, their dispute with Ochoa over a trailer contributed to the closure of their restaurant.
Quintal told The Times that many of Ochoa’s customers were farmworkers and that some had borrowed money from relatives in Mexico to pursue their dream of owning a food business.
As more complaints surfaced, the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office began receiving reports of possible consumer fraud involving Ochoa’s business.
After an initial review, investigators with the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation, assisted by the Ceres Police Department, launched a broader criminal investigation.
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What they found, prosecutors say, went well beyond a handful of dissatisfied customers.
Investigators ultimately identified more than 40 victims who had been defrauded out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Rather than using customers’ payments to build the food trucks they had ordered, investigators determined Ochoa spent the money on drugs, vacations and other personal luxuries.
Ochoa promoted himself and his business on social media, projecting an image of success while customers were trying to recover their money. His posts included images of him riding jet skis and posing next to a black Corvette.
Some customers also claimed they faced intimidation while attempting to resolve their disputes.
Quintal and Gonzalez said their confrontation with Ochoa escalated to the point that they were threatened by two men who brandished a gun at their restaurant’s drive thru. Ochoa previously told The Times that two people he sent to their San Bernardino restaurant were there to deal with payment issues, not to intimidate the couple.
Investigators arrested Ochoa in April 2024. He has remained in custody on $1 million bail, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
The criminal case culminated in Ochoa’s conviction on 18 counts of obtaining money by fraud, along with an allegation that the total amount involved exceeded $500,000.
He was also convicted of one count of witness intimidation.
Prosecutors said an aggravating factor in the case was that Ochoa specifically targeted vulnerable victims based on their immigration status.
“This case demonstrates the devastating impact fraud can have on unsuspecting victims,” Stanislaus County District Attorney Jeff Laugero said in a statement. “These individuals trusted Ochoa with their life savings.”
“Instead, he exploited their trust and vulnerabilities and stole from them,” Laugero added.
The district attorney credited investigators with uncovering the scope of the operation and identifying dozens of victims who otherwise might not have received justice.
Ochoa’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 30, where prosecutors say he is likely to receive a 20-year state prison sentence and be ordered to pay restitution to his victims.
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