A Navy reservist pleaded guilty Wednesday to bribing a public official for unauthorized Defense Department identification cards, the Justice Department announced.
Raymond Andres Zumba, 27, faces a maximum of 15 years in federal prison for offering a Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida, employee $3,500 for contraband intended for use by two Chinese buyers.
“Raymond Zumba must be held accountable for knowingly acting to compromise the safety of our warfighters and the security of critical military infrastructures for personal gain,” said Special Agent in Charge Norm Dominesey of the NCIS Southeast Field Office in an emailed statement.
According to a criminal complaint filed against Zumba, a confidential source informed the Naval Criminal Investigative Service in January 2025 of Zumba’s plot to obtain the ID cards, having served with Zumba for two years on the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer Carney.
Zumba met with the source at a bar in November 2024, at which point Zumba explained he’d come into wealth as a result of his marriage to a Chinese national, according to court documents.
During the meeting, Zumba inquired about the source’s comfort level in housing Chinese nationals.
The source approached NCIS agents afterward, suspecting criminal activity, and began cooperating with them on an investigation into Zumba.
Once Zumba returned from Hong Kong, he began contacting the source via Snapchat voice calls.
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During one such call on Jan. 23, 2025, Zumba took an interest in the confidential source’s wife, who worked at an office on Naval Air Station Jacksonville responsible for issuing Common Access Cards, or CACs, according to court documents.
CACs are the standard ID cards for DOD employees and active-duty uniformed service personnel that provide access to DOD facilities.
Zumba asked whether the source’s spouse could provide unauthorized CAC cards for Zumba’s in-laws in exchange for an “under-the-table payment,” according to court documents.
After several calls that the NCIS and Homeland Security Investigations monitored and collaborated on, the source, the source’s wife and Zumba agreed to pay $3,500 in total for two DOD ID cards — specifically, Uniformed Services ID Cards for dependent family members — that allow base access.
Zumba specified that the Chinese buyers would use the cards to travel on base for shopping.
After Zumba sent photos of the two Chinese buyers to the source, Homeland Security Investigations used Department of Homeland Security databases to identify one as a Chinese-born U.S. citizen and the other as a Chinese national who was illegally residing in the U.S.
Zumba also propositioned the source and his wife about marrying Chinese nationals to help grant legal residency, claiming they could make $35,000 each for the scheme.
On Feb. 13, 2025, at 6 p.m., Zumba, two Chinese buyers and one other individual arrived at the parking lot of the Personnel Support Detachment, or PSD, on Naval Air Station Jacksonville.
While the other individuals entered the PSD — taking photographs and fingerprints for their CAC cards — Zumba met with the source in the parking lot, presenting $3,500 cash as proof of a legitimate sale before the official exchange the following day.
The meeting ended around an hour later, with Zumba, the Chinese buyers and the one other individual leaving.
The next morning, Zumba met with the source outside a restaurant in Jacksonville, handing over $3,500 in exchange for two DOD IDs.
The source then followed Zumba into the restaurant, where they had lunch with one of the Chinese buyers and the other individual who was at the meeting the day before.
The other Chinese buyer had flown back to New York, according to court documents.
After lunch, agents with Homeland Security Investigations, NCIS and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office detained Zumba and the two other individuals.
Riley Ceder is a reporter at Military Times, where he covers breaking news, criminal justice, investigations, and cyber. He previously worked as an investigative practicum student at The Washington Post, where he contributed to the Abused by the Badge investigation.
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