La. Bond Broker’s ‘Straw Man’ Gets Probation

A California man described by prosecutors as a “straw man” for a convicted felon’s illegal insurance business in Louisiana has been sentenced to three years of probation.

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier also on Wednesday ordered 67-year-old James Zoucha, of Oceanside, Calif., to pay about $321,000 in restitution.

Zoucha pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a money laundering case against unlicensed bond broker Gwendolyn Moyo.

Moyo was sentenced to 20 years in prison after a jury convicted her of conspiring with former state Sen. Derrick Shepherd to launder money from her sale of bogus construction bonds. Shepherd pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge and is awaiting sentencing.