Tag Archives: U.S. Army National Guard

Two Army National Guard Soldiers Plead Guilty to Schemes to Defraud U.s. Army National Guard Bureau

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Two current U.S. Army National Guard soldiers have pleaded guilty for their role in bribery and fraud schemes that caused a total of at least $70,000 in losses to the U.S. Army National Guard Bureau.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson of the Southern District of Texas made the announcement.

Sergeant Annika Chambers, 28, of Houston, pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy and one count of bribery. Specialist Elisha Ceja, 27, of Barboursville, W.V., previously pleaded guilty to the same charge on Oct. 1, 2013. The cases against both defendants arise from an investigation involving allegations that former and current military recruiters and U.S. soldiers in the San Antonio and Houston areas engaged in a wide-ranging corruption scheme to illegally obtain fraudulent recruiting bonuses.  To date, the investigation has led to charges against 25 individuals, 17 of whom have pleaded guilty.

According to court documents filed in both cases, in approximately September 2005, the National Guard Bureau entered into a contract with Document and Packaging Broker, Inc. (Docupak) to administer the Guard Recruiting Assistance Program (G-RAP).  The G-RAP was a recruiting program that offered monetary incentives to soldiers of the Army National Guard who referred others to join the Army National Guard.  Through this program, a participating soldier could receive up to $3,000 in bonus payments for referring another individual to join.  Based on certain milestones achieved by the referred soldier, a participating soldier would receive payment through direct deposit into the participating soldier’s designated bank account.  To participate in the program, soldiers were required to create online recruiting assistant accounts.

Ceja and Chambers both admitted that they paid Army National Guard recruiters for the names and Social Security numbers of potential Army National Guard soldiers.  They further admitted that they used the personal identifying information for these potential soldiers to falsely claim that they were responsible for referring the potential soldiers to join the Army National Guard.

As a result of these fraudulent representations, Ceja collected approximately $12,000 in fraudulent bonuses, and Chambers collected approximately $17,000 in fraudulent bonuses.  The charge of bribery carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the pecuniary gain or loss.  The charge of conspiracy carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the pecuniary gain or loss.

Ceja and Chambers are scheduled to be sentenced before U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal in Houston on Dec. 19, 2013, and March 11, 2013, respectively.

These cases are being investigated by Special Agents from the San Antonio Fraud Resident Agency of Army Criminal Investigation Command’s Major Procurement Fraud Unit. The cases are being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Sean F. Mulryne, Mark J. Cipolletti, and Heidi Boutros Gesch of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney John Pearson of the Southern District of Texas.

Former Army National Guard Soldier Sentenced to 57 Months in Prison for Lead Role in Fraudulent Military Recruiting Referral Bonus Scheme

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A former member of the U.S. Army National Guard was sentenced today to serve 57 months in prison for leading a conspiracy to obtain approximately $244,000 in fraudulent recruiting referral bonuses from various U.S. military components and their contractor, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

Former U.S. Army National Guard Specialist Xavier Aves, 42, of San Antonio, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Fred Biery in the Western District of Texas.  In addition to his prison term, Chief Judge Biery sentenced Aves to serve three years of supervised release and ordered Aves to pay $244,000 in restitution, jointly and severally with co-conspirators.

On Sept. 16, 2011, a grand jury in the Western District of Texas returned a 41-count indictment against Aves and five co-defendants, in which Aves was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 30 counts of wire fraud and 10 counts of aggravated identity theft.

On Feb. 3, 2012, Aves pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

The case against Aves and his co-defendants arose from an investigation concerning allegations that former and current soldiers and military and civilian contract recruiters in the San Antonio area engaged in a wide-ranging scheme to obtain fraudulent recruiting referral bonuses.  To date, 11 individuals have been charged, 10 of whom have pleaded guilty and been sentenced.  The investigation is ongoing.

According to court documents, between 2005 and 2008, the U.S. Army, the U.S. Army Reserves and the National Guard Bureau entered into contracts with Document and Packaging Broker Inc. to administer recruiting bonus programs designed to offer monetary incentives to soldiers who referred others to serve in the U.S. military.  In addition, the Army managed its own recruiting bonus programs, which offered referral bonuses to soldiers who referred other individuals to serve in the Army or Army Reserves after registering online as recruiting assistants (RA) or sponsors.

Through these recruiting programs, a participating soldier could receive up to $2,000 in bonus payments for every person he referred to join the U.S. military.  Based on certain milestones achieved by the referred soldier, a participating soldier would receive the recruiting bonus payments in the form of direct deposits and pre-paid debit card payments.

According to court documents, between February 2006 and February 2011, Xavier Aves, Christopher Castro, Grant Bibb, Paul Escobar, Richard Garcia, Ernest Gonzales and others paid military recruiters, including Jesus Torres-Alvarez, for the names and social security numbers of potential soldiers.  Aves, Castro, Bibb, Escobar, Garcia, Gonzales and others used the information they obtained from recruiters to claim credit in their online RA and sponsor accounts for referring certain new soldiers to join the military, when in fact they did not refer those individuals.

Aves orchestrated the scheme by serving as a key intermediary between the recruiters and the participating RAs.  Aves arranged for the money to be split among his co-conspirators and directed a portion of the proceeds to be wired to his and his girlfriend’s personal bank accounts.

As a result of the fraudulent referrals, Aves and his co-conspirators received a total of approximately $244,000 in fraudulent recruiting bonuses.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Edward J. Loya Jr., Brian A. Lichter, Mark J. Cipolletti and Sean F. Mulryne of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.  The case is being investigated by agents from the San Antonio Fraud Resident Agency of the Major Procurement Fraud Unit, U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division.