One-time candidate for Fresno City Council sentenced in fraud case, with a twist
A one-time candidate for Fresno City Council and ex-city manager of Parlier was sentenced along with a business partner for their involvement in a multi-year pension fraud scheme — but both will appeal the case, their attorneys said Friday.
Fresno residents Marcus Asay, 69, and Antonio Gastelum, 53, were both sentenced to prison time after a five-week trial over alleged pension fraud, prosecutors said. Asay was sentenced to five years and Gastelum to two years.
Asay had additional convictions for worker’s compensation fraud, a hardship exemption fraud scheme related to the Affordable Care Act, and money laundering, prosecutors said.
Gastelum’s attorney, Michael McKneely, said his client was acquitted of all but one charge he faced, and that they will appeal the conviction.
In an “uncommon” ruling, he said, the judge stayed Gastelum’s sentence pending the outcome of the appeal.
“He believes there were problems with the trial and the shifting arguments of the government,” McKneely said.
Gastelum, who lost his bid for the Fresno council seat in 2016, held several roles in Agricultural Contracting Services Association, which does business as American Labor Alliance, a company he ran with Asay, prosecutors said.
McKneely said Gastelum helped the company “get its house in order.”
None of the alleged fraud led to any victims losing money, according to Tony Capozzi, Asay’s attorney. He will also appeal the decision, and said he will make a motion for Asay’s sentence to also be stayed.
Capozzi said every person who paid into the different programs got what they paid for, and their investments were all returned with interest.
“The only issue in this case was how the program was run,” he said. “No one was defrauded.”
Prosecutors alleged the men offered three sham products in retirement plans, workers’ compensation coverage and hardship exemptions between 2011 and 2019.
Capozzi said there were no victims, and the government’s accusations are over the way the company maintained its bank accounts for the different programs.
The hardship exemption fraud was sold as a way to meet the Affordable Care Act’s requirement for people to obtain health insurance, according to prosecutors.
The company falsely represented itself as able to protect and invest retirement money in a 401(k) plan. Asay instead used the money they collected from more than 3,000 people on improper and personal expenses, prosecutors said.
Asay also moved some of the money into his personal accounts and paid rent on a lakefront home, the jury heard.
The workers’ comp scheme tallied $2.25 million, prosecutors said.
Asay represented to victims he could help them to avoid having to meet the Affordable Care Act requirement by paying a “few hundred dollars,” prosecutors said. In reality, anyone who meets the hardship requirement could be granted the exemption for free.
This story was originally published April 11, 2025 at 12:31 PM.
