Recruiter From El Paso Admits Guilt In Bonus Scam

An Army recruiter from El Paso pleaded guilty in federal court in San Antonio on Thursday to swindling the government out of about $190,000 in recruiting bonuses.

Sgt. 1st Class Jesus Torres-Alvarez, 31, and five other soldiers were indicted by a federal grand jury in September. On Thursday, Torres-Alvarez pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge.

The others indicted were former Spc. Xavier Aves, former Cpl. Christopher Castro, and Army Spcs. Paul Escobar and Richard Garcia Jr., all of San Antonio, and former Staff Sgt. Grant E. Bibb of Eagle Pass, Texas.

Prosecutors had alleged that Torres-Alvarez, who had worked as an active-duty Army recruiter since August 2005, provided some of his alleged co-conspirators with the names and Social Security numbers of at least 15 potential recruits in exchange for about $10,000 in payments.

He admitted to prosecutors that he knew his co-conspirators would use the information to obtain recruiting bonuses by falsely claiming credit for recruiting the potential soldiers.

In all, Torres-Alvarez and his co-conspirators earned about $190,000 in fraudulent bonuses.

Torres-Alvarez faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. His sentencing has been set for May 25 before Chief U.S. District Judge Fred Biery in San Antonio.

According to court documents, the Army, the Army Reserve and the National Guard Bureau entered into contracts with Document and Packaging Broker Inc., between 2005 and 2008 to administer

recruiting bonus programs designed to offer monetary incentives to U.S. soldiers who referred others to join the U.S. military.

The Army also managed its own recruiting programs that offered bonuses to soldiers who referred others to join the Army or the Army Reserve.

Through those programs, a participating soldier could receive up to $2,000 in bonuses for every person he referred to join the U.S. military.

A participating soldier would also receive payments in the form of direct deposits and pre-paid debit-card payments based on certain milestones, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said the case against Torres-Alvarez stemmed from allegations that former and current recruiters and soldiers in San Antonio were engaged in a scheme to fraudulently obtain the bonuses. So far, seven people have been charged.

Last year, Sgt. Ernest Gonzalez, 50, of San Antonio, pleaded guilty to a one-count criminal information charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

He has yet to be sentenced.

Castro pleaded guilty in November to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and is awaiting sentencing.

Aves, Bibb, Escobar and Garcia are scheduled to go to trial on April 23.