Army Recruiter Pleads Guilty To Bogus Referral Scheme
PDF:Jesus Torres-Alvarez indictment.
A U.S. Army recruiter from El Paso pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obtain fraudulent recruiting bonuses by selling the names of potential enlistees to other recruiters.
Sgt. 1st Class Jesus Torres-Alvarez, 31, of El Paso, was indicted Sept. 13, 2011, along with former Spc. Xavier Aves, 40, of San Antonio; former Cpl. Christopher Castro, 30, of San Antonio; former Staff Sgt. Grant E. Bibb, 40, of Eagle Pass, Texas; Spc.Paul Escobar, 31, of San Antonio; and Spc. Richard Garcia Jr., 28, of San Antonio.
Torres-Alvarez entered his plea Thursday.
The Justice Department says Torres-Alvarez made at least $10,000 selling the names of potential recruits to active-duty soldiers. His alleged co-conspirators allegedly obtained about $190,000 in fraudulent recruiting bonuses.
According to court documents obtained by the ABC-7 I-Team, an Army recruiting assistant could get $1,000 for every referred soldier who enlisted, and $1,000 once the referred soldier shipped to Basic Training. A National Guard program had “sponsors” who could receive $1,000 for every referred soldier who shipped to basic training and another $1,000 once the referred soldier graduated from advanced individual training.
Torres-Alvarez is set to be sentenced in May. The 31-year-old faces up to five years in prison.
Records show that between approximately 2007 and approximately 2008, Torres-Alvarez, through his work as a recruiter, obtained access to the names and Social Security numbers of potential soldiers.
He then sold the names and Social Security numbers of more than 15 potential soldiers to Ayes and others, knowing that they intended to use the information to obtain the bonuses.
