California Man Sentenced for Conspiracy to Commit Mail and Wire Fraud

NEW ORLEANS, LA—JAMES ZOUCHA, age 67, of Oceanside, California, was sentenced today in federal court to three (3) years probation by the U. S. District Judge Carl J. Barbier, announced U.S. Attorney Jim Letten.  In addition, ZOUCHA was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $321,555.00.

According to the court records, ZOUCHA previously pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.   ZOUCHA’s co-defendant, GWENDOLYN JOSEPH MOYO was twice convicted in the District of Arizona for conspiracy to defraud the United States; making false statements; mail fraud; wire fraud; and fraudulent use of a Social Security number; all felony crimes involving dishonesty and breach of trust. Those convictions occurred in 1989 and 1991 and MOYO was sentenced to a nine (9) year term of imprisonment. Despite being prohibited from participating in the insurance business because of her prior convictions, MOYO, through her companies, AA COMMUNICATIONS, INC. and CMAG, marketed construction bonds to contractors and other entities which had difficulty placing coverage in the standard market.  MOYO’s clients paid her for worthless performance, payment, or bid bonds and then completed the jobs without realizing they had not been covered.  ZOUCHA acted as the President of AA COMMUNICATIONS, serving essentially as a “straw man” or nominee for MOYO, generally facilitating the business while keeping MOYO’s name off the legal documentation.  MOYO, AA COMMUNICATIONS, and  CMAG were neither licensed nor authorized to transact insurance in California, Louisiana, nor any other state.  Additionally, MOYO, having been ordered by the 19th Judicial District Court, Parish of East Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana, to cease and desist from engaging in the business of insurance in a suit brought by Commissioner of Insurance James J. Donelon, employed Louisiana Senator Derrick D.T. Shepherd to launder construction bond premiums for MOYO and AA COMMUNICATIONS in order to conceal her and her companies’ actions.

MOYO was convicted after a six (6) day jury trial in October 2008, and recently sentenced to a 20 year term of imprisonment.  The jury also ordered MOYO, AA COMMUNICATIONS, and CMAG to forfeit $1,495,521.20 as to the mail and wire fraud charges and ordered MOYO and AA COMMUNICATIONS to forfeit $1,548,246.21 as to the money laundering charges.  SHEPHERD pled guilty and is awaiting sentencing.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service/Criminal Investigations with the assistance of the Louisiana Department of Insurance, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Michael W. Magner, Gregory Kennedy, and Daniel Friel.