Reservist Bribed Way to Fake IDs for Allies

JACKSONVILLE, FL – Raymond Andres Zumba, 27, of Staten Island, NY, has confessed to greasing palms at Naval Air Station Jacksonville to secure Department of Defense identification cards for individuals who weren’t authorized to have them. Zumba pleaded guilty today to bribery of a public official, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in federal prison. He’s already cooling his heels in jail and will remain there until sentencing, the date of which hasn’t been set yet.

The scheme unraveled in January 2025 when a confidential source tipped off federal investigators. The source revealed that Zumba, a member of the U.S. Navy Reserve, knew their spouse worked in the personnel office at NAS Jacksonville – the very office responsible for issuing those crucial DoD IDs. Zumba, smelling opportunity, reportedly asked if the spouse would be willing to fabricate legitimate-looking, but entirely unauthorized, IDs… for a price. Federal agents instructed the source to play along, and a series of damning communications documenting Zumba’s plan quickly followed.

On February 13, 2025, Zumba drove down from New York with a crew of three, including a Chinese national. The group arrived at NAS Jacksonville, where the source’s spouse, under the guise of routine processing, allowed them access to the personnel office after hours. The spouse initiated the ID creation process for two of the individuals. It was a calculated risk, playing a dangerous game at Zumba’s direction.

The next day, the deal went down. Zumba met with the source and handed over $3,500 in cash in exchange for two freshly minted, unauthorized DoD ID cards. But the transaction was short-lived. Federal agents moved in immediately, arresting Zumba and recovering the bogus IDs. The whole operation was a meticulously planned sting.

This wasn’t some spur-of-the-moment decision. Zumba actively sought to exploit his military connection and a vulnerable insider to facilitate what appears to be a scheme with potentially serious national security implications. The investigation, spearheaded by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), suggests a deliberate attempt to bypass security protocols.

Assistant United States Attorneys David Mesrobian and Michael J. Coolican are prosecuting the case. The Grimy Times will continue to follow this story as it develops, bringing you the unvarnished truth about federal crime and corruption. The question now is, who else was involved, and what were these unauthorized individuals planning to do with their stolen identities?