(FOX40.COM) — A Ceres man was entrusted with people’s life savings in exchange for custom-built food trucks. Instead, he never delivered, and spent the cash on drugs, vacations and other personal luxuries. Now he has been convicted of fraud and faces a 20-year prison sentence, the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office announced Friday.
30-year-old Fernando “Ochoa” Jauregui, of Ceres, operated 8A Food Trucks, which took money from more than 40 victims for custom food trucks that were never built. He specifically targeted victims based on their immigration status, the district attorney’s office said.
After receiving several complaints, the district attorney’s office opened a criminal investigation in April 2023 and arrested Jauregui on April 16, 2024. He was booked into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center and initially charged with 28 counts of fraud, totaling $992,895 stolen from 27 victims…