D.C. National Guard Major Pleads Guilty to Immigration Fraud Scheme and to Theft of Government Money

WASHINGTON - Collin L. Welch, 40, of Arlington, Virginia, a Major in the D.C. National Guard, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to unlawfully inducing aliens to enter and remain in the United States and to theft of about $54,000 in government money, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

Welch pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Amir H. Ali to unlawfully inducing aliens to enter and remain in the United States and to theft of government money. As part of the plea, Welch agreed to forfeit a money judgment of $54,000 to the United States. Judge Ali scheduled sentencing for Dec 3, 2026.

According to court documents, Welch is a National Guard officer who previously served in the Alaska and D.C. National Guard with prior deployments to Afghanistan and Djibouti. In 2019, despite being married, he began a relationship with a Mongolian national while he was posted to the U.S. Embassy in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Welch later fabricated a divorce decree to convince the Mongolian woman he was no longer married, and in 2022 married her in Mongolia while still legally married to his wife. In 2024, Welch brought the Mongolian woman and her minor daughter to the United States on tourist visas, and in October 2024 married the Mongolian woman a second time, in Virginia, again while still legally married.

After the woman and her daughter's tourist visas expired in early 2025, Welch knowingly continued to support them financially and house them. When the Mongolian woman asked about her immigration status, Welch fabricated a series of documents, including fake permanent residency approvals, Social Security cards, and a letter falsely indicating military dependent health benefits, to convince her that a citizenship process was underway. None of the documents were ever filed with any government agency.

Separately, Welch used his government travel card to submit fraudulent travel vouchers and fabricated receipts for hotel stays and rental cars that never occurred, and used the card without authorization to fund personal travel and to pay for the woman and her daughter's living and travel expenses, resulting in about $54,000 in unauthorized charges to the United States.

The investigation was conducted by U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID), with assistance from the U.S. Attorney's Office's Criminal Investigations Unit.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney S. Babu Kaza, of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia - Fraud, Public Corruption, and Civil Rights Section.

On April 7, 2026, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. The core mission of the Fraud Division is to zealously investigate and prosecute those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars. Department of Justice efforts to combat fraud support President Trump's Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

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