Louisiana Army National Guard Soldier Pleads Guilty

U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that on Friday, March 6, 2015, PABLO E. PAZ, 45, of New Orleans, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit theft of government funds.

According to court documents, 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 his co-defendant, Ramon 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, a portion of which he provided to PAZ.

PAZ 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 June 2, 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.