Marcus Asay and Antonio Gastelum, residents of Fresno, were sentenced for their roles in a fraud scheme through their company, Agricultural Contracting Services Association, also known as American Labor Alliance (ALA). Asay received a five-year prison term, while Gastelum was sentenced to two years, as announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith. Additionally, ALA was fined $2.5 million, and both Asay and ALA were ordered to pay $69,250 in restitution each.
The convictions were secured on June 18, 2024, after a five-week jury trial in which Asay, Gastelum, and ALA were found guilty of running a pension fraud scheme. They were also convicted of worker’s compensation fraud, hardship exemption fraud, and money laundering.
As described in court documents, Asay founded and chaired ALA, and Gastelum held multiple roles, including Chief Operating Officer. Between 2011 and 2019, they sold fraudulent retirement plans, worker's compensation coverage, and hardship exemptions.
In the pension fraud scheme, more than 3,000 people were misled into believing their retirement funds would be protected under a 401(k) Plan. Instead, the money was used for personal expenses such as dining, travel, and Asay's personal retirement account. The pension fraud scheme resulted in losses totaling over $620,000. Asay was convicted of money laundering for moving funds through various accounts to disguise their origin.
The worker’s compensation fraud entailed Asay and ALA falsely asserting that their insurance coverage was backed by national insurers, which appeared on certificates issued to customers. This scheme generated $2.25 million in premiums. Customers were discouraged from cooperating with government investigations into this fraud.
The hardship exemption fraud involved misrepresenting that they could sell exemptions from the Affordable Care Act’s shared responsibility payment. In reality, only government agencies could issue such exemptions, and these were free for those who qualified.
Additional sentencing was applied as both Asay and Gastelum testified in their defense but were found to have committed perjury. The case was investigated by several federal agencies, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Tierney, Joseph Barton, and Stephanie Stokman prosecuted the case.