In a plea that exposes vulnerabilities within military security processes, Raymond Andres Zumba, a 27-year-old Naval Reservist from Staten Island, NY, admitted to bribing a public official in a bid to obtain unauthorized Department of Defense identification cards for individuals, including a Chinese national. As reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Zumba could face up to 15 years in a federal penitentiary for his actions.
The circumstance surrounding Zumba's guilty plea began to unfold in Januar when a confidential informant alerted law enforcement that Zumba, serving in the U.S. Navy Reserve, proposed an illicit deal to obtain real yet unauthorized identification cards from the personnel office of Naval Air Station (NAS) Jacksonville. The nefarious agreement involved an exchange of these precious tokens of security for cold, hard cash. Despite garnering immediate interest from the authorities, the sting did not reach its climax until Zumba made the trek from New York to Jacksonville in February.
On February 13, Zumba arrived at NAS Jacksonville with an entourage that included a Chinese national, according to court documents. Under the cover of darkness and outside the watchful eyes of regular office hours, the conspirators gained access to the NAS personnel office, where the process to issue two identification cards was unlawfully initiated. Zumba completed his part of this illicit transaction the following day, receiving the cards in exchange for $3,500.
However, the exchange was short-lived, as federal agents swiftly apprehended Zumba in the aftermath of the deal. The two identification cards, potent symbols of an ill-conceived scheme, were recovered at the scene. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service and Homeland Security Investigations spearheaded the investigation, culminating in Zumba's current detention, and the sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled, will be the next chapter in this case. Assistant United States Attorneys David Mesrobian and Michael J. Coolican are the prosecutors taking the lead on Zumba's prosecution.
