Louisiana Lawyer Poised to Plead Guilty in Hurricane Ida Insurance Fraud Scheme
Finn's Take· TL;DR- Louisiana attorney Richard Huye faces wire fraud charges for allegedly sending 856 misleading letters to insurers, misrepresenting he represented homeowners when actually working for a roofing company.
- Eight homeowners identified in the scheme received reduced or no settlements after their Hurricane Ida insurance claims were secretly redirected without authorization or disclosure.
- Huye appears poised to plead guilty after prosecutors described him using a bill of information, signaling potential plea negotiations; the firm collapsed into bankruptcy in 2024.
A Scheme Built on Deception
A former New Orleans attorney has been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a Hurricane Ida insurance scheme that left eight homeowners without money to repair their roofs. The case against Richard William Huye III, 34, who was the managing partner of McClenny Moseley & Associates, a Houston-based law firm that filed thousands of hurricane damage lawsuits across Louisiana in the years after the 2021 storm, has now entered federal court — and a guilty plea appears to be on the horizon.
The scheme allegedly began when an Alabama roofing company signed homeowners to agreements giving it rights to their insurance claims, and then sent those claims to Huye's law firm. But instead of telling insurance companies that it was working on behalf of the roofing company, prosecutors say Huye and the firm told insurers they represented the homeowners themselves. The victims — people already reeling from a catastrophic storm — had no idea their claims had been quietly redirected.
856 False Letters and Hundreds of Victims
Prosecutors say Huye electronically sent hundreds of false or misleading representation letters to insurance carriers, and federal filings put the total at 856 such letters. The federal charging document describes eight Louisiana homeowners whose claims were affected, and most either received nothing intended to repair their roofs, or had their settlements reduced by attorney fees and expenses they had never authorized. That's not a paperwork error — that's storm survivors left with damaged roofs and empty pockets.
The charge is the first criminal filing from a years-long investigation into McClenny Moseley & Associates, which Louisiana regulators described in 2023 as responsible for one of the most egregious insurance fraud schemes in state history. Then-Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon announced $2 million in fines against MMA, Huye, and founding partners James McClenny and John Moseley in May 2023, with each receiving the maximum $500,000 penalty after the Louisiana Department of Insurance said its investigation found at least 856 fraudulent representations involving more than 850 Louisiana homeowners.
A Guilty Plea Likely in the Works
Huye was charged by bill of information on August 28, 2026. That procedural detail is significant. Federal felony charges ordinarily proceed by grand jury indictment, and the mere filing of an information does not conclusively establish that a plea agreement has been signed — but informations commonly appear after the important conversations have already occurred, and they often signal that the defendant has negotiated a resolution, intends to waive indictment, and is preparing to plead guilty.
That possibility is especially significant here because the information reportedly describes an unnamed managing-partner co-conspirator, and based on the publicly reported history of McClenny Moseley & Associates, the most likely identity is Zach Moseley. The charge carries a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison. Huye's attorney declined to comment when contacted by reporters.
The Firm's Collapse — and What Comes Next
Louisiana Supreme Court records show MMA had entered contingency-fee contracts with thousands of Louisiana residents after Hurricane Ida, and the firm subsequently filed for bankruptcy protection in 2024. In July 2026, the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled that McClenny Moseley & Associates cannot collect legal fees from successor law firms if the original client engagements were obtained through illegal or unethical solicitation practices — a decision that blocked the firm's bankruptcy estate from claiming funds from attorneys who took over the abandoned storm-damage cases.
The arc of this case is a cautionary tale about what can happen when disaster strikes and opportunists rush in. Hundreds of Louisiana families, already victimized by a hurricane, were allegedly victimized again — this time by the very people claiming to help them. The next court filing may confirm what the information already seems to be signaling: a waiver of indictment, a guilty plea, and perhaps an agreement to tell prosecutors exactly who directed this Hurricane Ida operation. For the communities still rebuilding five years after Ida, that kind of accountability is long overdue.