Former Army Officer and JAG Attorney Sentenced for Destruction of U.S. Army Property and Lying to Federal Investigators

LYNCHBURG, Va. - A former Army officer and attorney assigned to the United States Army Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School (JAG School) in Charlottesville, Virginia, was sentenced today to 54 months in federal prison on multiple federal charges related to his destruction of U.S. Army property and subsequent false statements to federal investigators.

Manfredo Martin-Michael Madrigal, 38, formerly of Charlottesville, Va., pled guilty in July 2024 to one count of destruction of U.S. Army materials and three counts of making a false statement.

According to court documents, in February 2022, Madrigal was assigned to a staff position at the JAG School in the Training Developments Directorate, whose mission was to design and develop training products for the JAG Corps and the Army. Madrigal possessed an active security clearance and previously served overseas on sensitive operations.

In early 2022, Madrigal was under investigation by the U.S. Army and the JAG School for failing to report a previous arrest for driving under the influence (DUI). While his Army investigation was pending, Madrigal deleted, without authorization, online JAG training materials and filmed himself doing so while graphically describing his ill-will towards the Army. The FBI's investigation also revealed that Madrigal made a phone call to the Russian embassy in Washington, D.C. the same night that he deleted the training materials and then texted a witness that Russia wanted to know what he knew.

On February 22, 2022, Madrigal was discharged from the JAG School and claimed in his exit paperwork that he had no unreported contact with a foreign national. In April and May 2022, Madrigal was interviewed by the FBI about his actions. In these interviews, Madrigal made multiple false statements regarding his actions, including denying any involvement in the deletion of materials and that he only learned of the deletion from a coworker, as well as falsely denying his contact with a foreign national at the Embassy.

Acting United States Attorney Zachary T. Lee of the Western District of Virginia and Stanley M. Meador, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Richmond Division, made the announcement.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Attorneys Katie Burroughs Medearis, Vito A. Iaia, Sean M. Welsh, and Special Assistant United States Attorney Jessica Joyce are prosecuting the case for the United States.