Naval Reservist Charged For Bribe To Obtain Military Identification Cards For Unauthorized Individuals, Including A Chinese National

The U.S. Immigration and Customs and Enforcement (ICE) released the information below:

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A U.S. Navy Reservist from New York was indicted March 3, for bribery of a public official to purchase unauthorized U.S. Department of Defense identification cards in exchange for cash following a joint investigation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

Raymond Andres Zumba, 27, of Staten Island, New York, faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison. Zumba has been ordered detained pending trial.

According to court documents, in January 2025, a confidential source reported to law enforcement that Zumba, who serves in the U.S. Navy Reserve, was asked whether the source would be willing to issue real, but unauthorized, identification cards for an under-the-table payment. Acting at the direction of federal agents, the source proceeded to engage in a series of communications with Zumba during which they discussed Zumba’s plan to obtain unauthorized ID cards in exchange for cash.

After driving from New York, Zumba arrived in Jacksonville on Feb. 13, with three individuals, all Chinese born. Zumba brought these individuals to NAS Jacksonville where they went into the personnel office after business hours and initiated the process for two of them to receive ID cards. The following day, Zumba met with the source, who gave him two ID cards in exchange for $3,500. Zumba was promptly arrested, and the ID cards were recovered.

It will be prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Mesrobian and Michael J. Coolican.