Former Military Recruiter Pleads Guilty in Recruiting Bonuses Scheme

A former soldier and military recruiter has pleaded guilty for his part in a scheme to illegally obtain military recruiting bonuses.

40-year-old Grant E. Bibb, a former staff sergeant in the U.S. Army pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy to obtain more than $200,000 in fraudulent recruiting bonuses from various U.S. military groups and their contractor.

Bibb, an Eagle Pass, Texas native, was indicted in September of 2011 with former Specialist Xavier Aves, former Corporal Christopher Castro, Sergeant First Class Jesus Torres-Alvarez, Specialist Paul Escobar, and Specialist Richard Garcia.

Court documents show that Bibb served in the Army National Guard from January 2003 until July 2007, and as a contract military recruiter from December 2008 until April 2009.

The U.S. Army, U.S. Army Reserves, and National Guard Bureau entered into contracts with Document And Packing Broker Inc. to administer recruiting bonus programs offering monetary incentives to U.S. soldiers who referred others to join the U.S. military. This was in addition to the Army’s own recruiting program bonuses.

Under these programs, a soldier could make up to $2,000 in bonuses for each person referred.

Bibb admitted that he participated with others in a scheme to get fraudulent recruiting bonuses, by paying certain active duty recruiters and another person for the names and Social Security numbers of potential soldiers. He used the information to claim that he was responsible for referring the soldiers, when he had not been involved in their recruitment.

Bibb personally received $35,000 in fraudulent recruiting bonuses, as well as helping other soldiers establish online accounts to help them participate in the scheme. The group received at least $205,000 in fraudulent bonuses between September 2007 and February 2010.

Bibb faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for May 25^th, 2012.