El Paso soldier pleads guilty to receiving false bonuses

A U.S. military recruiter from El Paso pleaded guilty Thursday to receiving fraudulent recruiting bonuses.

Sgt. 1st Class Jesus Torres-Alvarez, 31, was indicted Sept. 13, 2011.

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 give recruiting bonus programs designed to offer monetary incentives to U.S. soldiers who referred others to join the U.S. military, according to court documents.

The Army managed its own recruiting programs that offered bonuses to soldiers who referred other individuals to join the Army or the Army Reserves.Through these recruiting programs, a 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 payments in the form of direct deposits and prepaid debit card payments.

Court documents indicate that Torres-Alvarez served as an active duty Army recruiter since August 2005.

Torres-Alvarez admitted that he provided certain co-conspirators with the names and Social Security numbers of at least 15 potential soldiers in exchange for a total of at least $10,000 in payments.

Torres-Alvarez also admitted that he understood at the time that his co-conspirators planned to use this information to obtain recruiting bonuses by falsely claiming credit for referring these potential soldiers to join the U.S. military.

Through the scheme, Torres-Alvarez's co-conspirators allegedly obtained a total of at least approximately $190,000 in fraudulent recruiting bonuses.

Torres-Alvarez faces five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

A sentencing hearing was scheduled for May 25. before Chief U.S. District Judge Fred Biery in San Antonio.

Also indicted were 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; Specialist Paul Escobar, 31, of San Antonio; and Spc. Richard Garcia Jr., 28, of San Antonio.