National Guard officer admits utilizing authorities journey card to help secret second spouse

An Army National Guard officer is awaiting punishment for utilizing his authorities journey card to pay 1000’s of {dollars} in bills for a Mongolian girl he married and dropped at the U.S. whereas nonetheless being married to a different girl.

Maj. Collin L. Welch, 40, of Arlington, Va., pleaded responsible Tuesday in federal court docket within the District of Columbia to theft of presidency cash and unlawfully inducing aliens to enter and stay within the United States, the Justice Department said in a press release Tuesday.

He agreed to forfeit $54,000 as a part of the plea, the assertion mentioned. U.S. District Judge Amir Ali scheduled his sentencing for Dec. 3.

Currently a member of the D.C. National Guard, Welch beforehand served with its Alaska counterpart and deployed to Afghanistan and Djibouti.

He started a relationship with the lady in 2019 whereas on project on the U.S. Embassy in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, prosecutors mentioned. He was nonetheless married to the mom of his youngsters on the time, court docket data mentioned.

His spouse, who had moved with him and their household to Mongolia, returned to Alaska for medical causes that 12 months, in response to court docket filings.

The romance with the Mongolian girl and Welch’s sample of deception continued for years, even after his embassy project had ended, prosecutors mentioned.

After Welch returned to Alaska in 2021, the Mongolian girl visited him, and he used a fabricated divorce decree to persuade her that he was not married. He traveled to Mongolia and married her the next 12 months, in response to the Justice Department.

Welch and his unique household transferred to the D.C. space in 2023, however he made video calls to the Mongolian girl from lodge rooms, usually paid for with unauthorized fees to his authorities journey card, to cover that he was nonetheless married and dwelling together with his household, the court docket data mentioned.

Welch was serving with the D.C. National Guard’s State Partnership Program, which coordinates military-to-military engagements with overseas forces and sometimes requires members to journey for official functions.

But prosecutors mentioned he additionally lied to get permission for journeys with unofficial functions and used a authorities pc to create faux receipts to justify unauthorized fees on his authorities journey card.

He used that card to pay for the lady and her daughter to fly to the U.S. in 2024 earlier than marrying the lady once more in Virginia. When their vacationer visas expired, he continued to deal with and help them, offering faux paperwork to persuade them that that they had been granted everlasting residency and issued Social Security numbers.

Later that 12 months, the undocumented dependents have been evicted from an residence that Welch had leased for them, after they did not pay lease and he tried to pay with cast checks. He continued to help them by means of March 2026.

Welch’s legal professional, Gregory P. Rosen, didn’t dispute the main points within the court docket submitting — known as a press release of offense — however mentioned the complete image would come with the strains that two deployments away from household placed on his shopper.

“None of that changes the fact that Maj. Welch accepts full responsibility for his actions,” Rosen mentioned. “That alone speaks louder about his character than any statement of offense, standing alone, ever could.”

A former senior federal prosecutor, Rosen mentioned he discovered the immigration cost uncommon, even when it technically utilized, and questioned whether or not financially supporting somebody after they overstay their visa fell inside the spirit of what Congress meant to criminalize.

Welch’s plea settlement says he’ll possible face 10 to 16 months in jail and a nice of as much as $55,000. He may qualify for a decrease sentence as a result of he has no prior felony file.