Man arrested in alleged fraud scheme for failing to deliver food trucks in IE and Central Valley

A man accused of scamming dozens of people in San Bernardino County and the Central Valley out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in business deals to build and provide food trucks has been arrested.

Investigators from the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office arrested Fernando Ochoa Juaregui, 27, of Modesto at 5:35 p.m. Tuesday. He was booked on suspicion of fraud at the Sheriff’s Detention Center, according to Stanislaus County sheriff’s booking records.

Ochoa Juaregui, owner of Ceres-based 8A Food Truck Inc., is alleged to have entered into agreements with roughly 40 people in the Central Valley to build and provide them food trucks but failed to deliver, said Wendell Emerson, chief deputy district attorney for Stanislaus County, who confirmed Ochoa Juaregui’s arrest.

Juaregui was well-known throughout the Central Valley as “the taco truck guy.”

In a telephone interview in February, Emerson said his office’s investigation involved “dozens upon dozens of alleged victims,” with more coming forward, including alleged victims in the Inland Empire that involve at least one San Bernardino couple and a man in Victorville.

A San Bernardino couple claims they gave Juaregui a $15,000 cash deposit to build them a food service trailer and a Victorville man alleges he gave Juaregui nearly $25,000 to convert a van into a food truck. All three claim they received nothing in return.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Source: Orange County Register