U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that RAMON E. MADRID, 29, a resident of Kenner, pled guilty yesterday to one count of conspiracy to commit theft of government funds.
According to court documents, MADRID’s co-defendant, PABLO PAZ, was a recruiter for the Louisiana Army National Guard. In this capacity, PAZ obtained personally identifiable information (PII), such as names, dates of birth and social security numbers, from potential soldiers that came to the recruiting station for the purpose of becoming a soldier. PAZ provided the PII of potential soldiers to MADRID without the knowledge or consent of the soldiers, to obtain Guard Recruiter Assistance Program (G-RAP) incentive payments to which they were not entitled. MADRID received approximately $30,000 in fraudulently obtained recruitment incentive payments, and provided a portion of the funds to PAZ.
MADRID faces a maximum term of five years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release. U.S. District Judge Jay C. Zainey set sentencing for May 12, 2015.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the United States Army Criminal Investigation Division Command and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service in investigating this matter. Public Integrity Unit Chief Tracey N. Knight is in charge of the prosecution.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
