A major serving in the District of Columbia National Guard has pleaded guilty in a federal case involving a concealed second marriage, fabricated immigration records and approximately $54,000 in unauthorized government travel card charges.
Collin L. Welch, a 40-year-old resident of Arlington, Virginia, entered his guilty plea in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on July 28, 2026. He admitted to unlawfully inducing foreign nationals to enter and remain in the United States and to stealing government money.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Welch used a government-issued travel card to cover personal expenses connected to a Mongolian woman he had married while he was still legally married to his first wife. Prosecutors said he also submitted fraudulent travel vouchers and created false receipts for hotel rooms and rental cars that were never used for legitimate government business.
The unauthorized charges ultimately cost the United States approximately $54,000. As part of his plea agreement, Welch agreed to forfeit that amount to the federal government. His sentencing is scheduled for December 3, 2026.
The case has received national attention because it combines personal deception with the misuse of taxpayer funds and false immigration-related documents. Although some headlines have focused on Welch’s “secret second wife,” his guilty plea was specifically connected to the theft of government money and unlawfully inducing foreign nationals to enter and remain in the country.
The allegations outlined in court records reveal a scheme that developed over several years and eventually involved two marriages to the same woman, expired tourist visas, fabricated government documents and unauthorized use of a card intended for official travel.
How the Secret Relationship and Second Marriage Began
Welch previously served in both the Alaska National Guard and the D.C. National Guard. His military history included deployments to Afghanistan and Djibouti before he was assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
In 2019, while posted at the embassy, Welch began a relationship with a Mongolian woman. At the time, he was already legally married.
According to federal prosecutors, the relationship continued after his diplomatic assignment ended. To convince the Mongolian woman that he was free to marry, Welch created a fraudulent divorce decree. The document falsely suggested that his existing marriage had legally ended.
In 2022, Welch traveled to Mongolia and married the woman. However, his original marriage remained legally valid. He had therefore presented himself as divorced while continuing to be legally married to his first wife.
The situation became more complicated in 2024 when Welch arranged for the Mongolian woman and her minor daughter to travel to the United States on tourist visas.
In October 2024, Welch married the woman for a second time, this time in Virginia. Prosecutors said he was still legally married to his first wife when the Virginia ceremony occurred.
The Justice Department’s announcement does not indicate that Welch pleaded guilty to a separate bigamy charge. Instead, the overlapping marriages form part of the background to the immigration and government-theft offenses that were included in his guilty plea.
This distinction matters because the most widely shared version of the story can make the case sound like it was prosecuted mainly because of an extramarital relationship or second marriage. The federal prosecution, however, focused on what Welch did after beginning that relationship—particularly his conduct involving the woman’s immigration situation and his use of government funds.
Additional court-record reporting indicates that Welch used official-looking documents and government resources to maintain the deception over an extended period. His actions allegedly became more elaborate as the woman began asking questions about her legal status and future in the United States.
What may have started as a personal relationship eventually developed into a federal criminal matter because prosecutors said Welch relied on fabricated records, unauthorized government spending and conduct designed to help the woman and her daughter remain in the country.
Fake Immigration Records Used to Continue the Deception
The Mongolian woman and her daughter entered the United States legally using tourist visas. Those visas later expired in early 2025.
After the visas expired, Welch continued to provide housing and financial support to both individuals. When the woman began asking questions about her immigration status, he allegedly created a series of false documents to make her believe that a legitimate immigration process was underway.
The fabricated records reportedly included fake permanent residency approvals and false Social Security cards. Welch also created a letter that appeared to indicate that the woman and her daughter were eligible for military dependent healthcare benefits.
None of those records had been issued by the responsible government agencies, and none had been submitted through a lawful immigration application process.
The documents were apparently intended to convince the woman that her status was being handled and that she and her daughter had received official recognition from the U.S. government.
This part of the case is especially significant because immigration documents such as permanent resident cards and Social Security records represent official legal status. Fabricating those records can leave the person receiving them with a false understanding of whether they are authorized to live, work or receive benefits in the country.
The Justice Department said Welch knowingly continued to house and support the woman and her daughter after their tourist visas expired. He pleaded guilty to unlawfully inducing foreign nationals to enter and remain in the United States.
The available federal announcement does not claim that the Mongolian woman helped create the fraudulent documents. Instead, prosecutors said Welch produced them to persuade her that a citizenship or residency process was taking place.
That detail changes the way the case should be understood. The court record described by federal officials presents the woman not simply as the beneficiary of the scheme, but also as someone who was allegedly deceived about Welch’s original marriage and the legitimacy of her immigration status.
Welch had first shown her a false divorce decree to convince her that he was no longer married. He later produced more fake documents when she requested information about her legal position in the United States.
The repeated use of fabricated records created an appearance of legality around circumstances that had not actually been approved by any federal agency.
The sequence also demonstrates how one false document can lead to another. The fake divorce decree supported the marriage in Mongolia. Later, fabricated immigration and benefit records were used to maintain the claim that the woman and her daughter had lawful status and access to military-related benefits.
By that point, the personal deception had expanded into conduct involving federal immigration law, military benefits and public money.
How the Government Travel Card Scheme Cost Taxpayers $54,000
The financial element of the case centered on Welch’s government-issued travel card.
Government travel cards are provided for authorized expenses connected to official duties. They are not intended to operate as personal credit cards or to pay for private housing, family support or unrelated travel.
Prosecutors said Welch used his card without authorization to finance personal trips and to cover living and travel expenses for the Mongolian woman and her daughter.
The misuse went beyond simply placing unauthorized purchases on the card. Welch also submitted fraudulent government travel vouchers and created false supporting documentation.
The Justice Department said he fabricated receipts for hotel stays and rental cars that had never occurred. Those false records were used to make personal charges appear connected to legitimate government travel.
Additional court-record reporting indicates that Welch sometimes made video calls to the Mongolian woman from hotel rooms in an effort to hide the fact that he continued to live with his original family. Some of those rooms were allegedly paid for through unauthorized government travel card charges.
Welch was involved with the D.C. National Guard’s State Partnership Program, a role that required official travel and military engagement with foreign partners. Prosecutors said he exploited that travel environment by seeking approval for trips that had unofficial purposes and creating false records to justify unauthorized spending.
The unauthorized charges eventually reached approximately $54,000.
That total represented money taken from the United States, according to Welch’s guilty plea. It was not merely an unpaid personal credit card balance or an internal disciplinary issue.
By submitting false vouchers and receipts, Welch caused private expenses to be presented as legitimate government costs. Such conduct shifts the financial burden from the individual making the purchases to taxpayers.
The case also highlights why documentation is central to government spending controls. A receipt, hotel invoice or rental car record is supposed to prove that an expense occurred and was connected to official duties.
When that documentation is fabricated, supervisors and financial departments may approve payments based on events that never took place.
The allegations suggest a deliberate process rather than an isolated mistake. Prosecutors described unauthorized purchases, false travel vouchers and invented receipts covering multiple categories of spending.
The funds were reportedly used for Welch’s own personal travel as well as expenses associated with the woman and her daughter. Federal officials therefore treated the spending as theft of government money.
Welch has accepted financial responsibility for the amount identified by prosecutors. Under the plea agreement, he agreed to forfeit a $54,000 money judgment to the United States.
Forfeiture does not necessarily represent his entire punishment. It is the amount he agreed to surrender as part of the criminal case. The judge will determine the final sentence after considering the plea agreement, federal sentencing rules and other relevant information.
Guilty Plea, Sentencing and the Wider Significance of the Case
Welch pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Amir H. Ali to two federal offenses: unlawfully inducing foreign nationals to enter and remain in the United States and theft of government money.
Judge Ali scheduled sentencing for December 3, 2026. Until that hearing takes place, no final prison sentence, fine or period of supervised release has been imposed.
Stars and Stripes reported that the plea agreement calculated a likely advisory sentencing range of approximately 10 to 16 months in prison, although the judge is not automatically required to impose a sentence within that range. The report also noted that Welch may receive consideration for having no previous criminal record.
Welch’s attorney said his client accepted responsibility for his conduct. The defense also indicated that it may present additional personal and military circumstances for the judge to consider during sentencing, including the effects of deployments and extended separation from family.
Those arguments do not undo the guilty plea. They may, however, become relevant when the court decides the appropriate punishment.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division with assistance from the Criminal Investigations Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Assistant U.S. Attorney S. Babu Kaza of the office’s Fraud, Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section is prosecuting the case.
At its core, the National Guard government travel card case involves a serious violation of public trust.
Military officers may have access to official travel systems, government equipment and public money because their duties require them to operate on behalf of the United States. That access depends on accurate reporting and the expectation that government resources will be used only for authorized purposes.
Welch’s admitted conduct crossed that boundary. He used a government travel card for private expenses, submitted false reimbursement records and relied on fabricated documentation to conceal what had occurred.
The case also involved a second form of trust: the trust of the Mongolian woman who prosecutors said believed Welch’s false divorce decree and later relied on fake immigration documents that he created.
The full story is therefore larger than a sensational headline about a “secret second wife.” It involves several interconnected deceptions—one directed at the woman, another involving immigration status and another aimed at the government systems responsible for reviewing travel expenses.
It is important to avoid assuming what Welch’s final sentence will be. He has admitted the offenses, agreed to forfeit $54,000 and is awaiting the court’s decision.
The sentencing hearing will provide the next major development. Judge Ali may consider the amount of money involved, the length of the scheme, the creation of false records, Welch’s military history, his acceptance of responsibility and any other factors permitted under federal law.
Whatever punishment is eventually imposed, the guilty plea already establishes an important point: government travel cards cannot be used as private funding sources, even when the spending is connected to complicated personal circumstances.
The case demonstrates how misuse of public resources can transform a concealed personal relationship into a federal fraud prosecution. It also serves as a warning that false receipts, travel vouchers and immigration documents can create consequences extending far beyond administrative discipline.
Welch is scheduled to return to court on December 3, 2026, when the judge is expected to determine his sentence. Until then, he remains convicted by guilty plea but not yet sentenced.
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