The first defendant charged in the Hurricane Ida insurance fraud case built around McClenny Moseley and Associates (MMA) is headed toward a guilty plea, the Guardian reported, citing federal court records in New Orleans.
Richard William Huye III, 34, is scheduled to appear at a rearraignment hearing on September 28 in New Orleans’s federal courthouse. Rearraignments are typically held when a defendant agrees to abandon a not-guilty plea as part of a deal with prosecutors rather than proceed to trial. A separate arraignment hearing is scheduled 90 minutes earlier the same day.
A plea deal in the making
Huye was charged on August 28 with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. It was the first criminal filing from a years-long investigation into MMA, according to the Guardian. He faces up to five years in prison and a fine of about $250,000 if convicted, though defendants who plead guilty typically receive lighter sentences.
The bill of information charging Huye names an MMA associate only as “co-conspirator 1.” That person’s description closely matches MMA managing partner Zach Moseley. Bills of information, filed in place of grand jury indictments, frequently signal a defendant’s intent to cooperate with prosecutors pursuing others connected to the case. If Huye does cooperate, the federal investigation’s focus on MMA’s broader leadership could intensify.
How the scheme worked
Court filings allege that Huye helped MMA open a New Orleans office within days of Hurricane Ida making landfall as a Category 4 storm on August 29, 2021. MMA then worked with Alabama roofing company Apex Roofing and Restoration. Apex signed storm victims to assignment of benefits (AOB) agreements that transferred their insurance claim rights to the contractor, then passed those claims to MMA. Prosecutors say MMA told insurers it represented the homeowners, without disclosing its relationship with Apex or, in some cases, without the homeowners’ knowledge…