A National Guard soldier wanted as an “international fugitive” for multi-million dollar financial crimes was arrested while in basic training at a Missouri Army base, officials said.
Marcin Pióro, 45, a Polish citizen, was arrested after Interpol issued a “red notice,” according to U.S. Marshals Service officials. Deputies arrested Pióro on May 19 while he “was participating in a military training exercise.” An Army official confirmed Pióro was in basic combat training at the base, but had not graduated.
“Pióro joined the U.S. Army to receive naturalization sponsorship,” the U.S. Marshals Service said in a release. Non-U.S. citizens can discuss the process of accelerated naturalization during their interview with recruiters and apply once they arrive at their battalion for basic training, according to an Army release.
An Illinois National Guard official told Task & Purpose that Pioro was a specialist in the guard for nearly seven months as a delayed-entry trainee before shipping out to Fort Leonard Wood for basic training. The official said he was discharged from the guard after his arrest.
Pióro’s age was listed as 46 in the Marshals Service’s press release on his arrest, but an Interpol alert and Polish court documents filed in federal court list his birthday as September 6, 1980, meaning he was 45 throughout his time in the guard and when he was arrested. The maximum age for enlistment in the National Guard is 42, matching that of active duty, but recruiters are known to work with recruits on waivers.
Fort Leonard Wood is the Army’s One Station Unit Training base for new recruits slotted for jobs as military police, combat engineers, transportation, and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear, or CBRN soldiers. Recruits in all fields go through a standardized basic training program before moving to job-specific Advanced Individual Training for specific jobs at schools around the Missouri base.
Pióro’s arrest was first reported by OzarksFirst.
Recruit accused of $40 million fraud in Poland
Pióro was arrested, the Marshals Service said, pursuant to a red notice from Interpol, the European police agency and a detailed extradition request from the Polish government. A red notice is an alert to law enforcement agencies around the globe.
Pióro, the Marshals Service said, was wanted by Polish authorities for large-scale fraud through his business. Documents filed in federal court this week related to his extradition say Pióro is the CEO of a Polish financial services platform known as Cinkciarz.pl/Conotoxia. The company, Polish authorities say, defrauded thousands of customers between 125 million and 150 million PLN, or between $34.5 million and $41.3 million.
Pióro appeared in a federal court in Missouri on May 20 and was detained.
U.S. Marshals Service deputies coordinated Pióro’s arrest with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Department of Defense Inspector General and the FBI, according to the release.
