A Navy reservist pleaded guilty this week to charges that he bribed a public official to make identification cards for unauthorized personnel.
Raymond Zumba, 27, entered his guilty plea on Wednesday, July 2, the Department of Justice said. The move comes five months after he was arrested by authorities while attempting to pay $3,500 for a pair of “real but unauthorized” military identification cards at Naval Air Station Jacksonville for two people with ties to China.
According to the criminal complaint filed against him, the Navy reservist attempted to use a contact he had previously served with while on active duty to help him obtain military-issued identification cards for two people, which would let them access bases.
Zumba previously served aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer the USS Carney while on active duty and took part in one deployment. Photos shared on the military’s Defense Visual Information Distribution Service show him onboard the USS Carney while at sea between 2018-2020.
The scheme, court documents said, saw Zumba reaching out to his former shipmate from the USS Carney in November 2024. The two met up at a bar in Jacksonville, Florida, where he explained he had married a Chinese national. He asked his friend if they would be okay with housing other Chinese nationals, in exchange for money. Zumba traveled to Hong Kong, returning in December and in January 2025 he approached his former shipmate about reaching out to their spouse to obtain a pair of Common Access Cards (or “CAC cards”) under the table. The shipmate’s spouse worked at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, in the office that made and issued CAC cards. The shipmate alerted naval authorities soon after. Zumba allegedly offered $1,500 for each card, while the other person was recording the conversation to give to federal agents. In a later call, Zumba said that the cards would be for his wife’s parents, Chinese nationals. During the conversations, Zumba allegedly reiterated that “the money was there.”
Naval Criminal Investigative Service and Homeland Security Investigations oversaw the investigation into Zumba.
After several back and forth conversations, the request changed to getting a pair of military uniformed service ID cards. Zumba and two others traveled from New York City to Naval Air Station Jacksonville. On February 13, they arranged to meet on base to scan fingerprints and take photos for the cards. Court documents show that the order was now for one “active” dependent ID card and one that was not, for a combined price of $3,500. The buyers were described by NCIS and HSI as a naturalized U.S. citizen born in China and a Chinese national illegally in the country.
Zumba met with his former shipmate the next day for lunch and to hand over the money. He was immediately arrested by authorities.
“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,” NCIS Special Agent in Charge Norman Dominesey of the NCIS Southeast Field Office said in a statement.
The sailor faces a maximum of 15 years in prison under the charges. A sentencing date has not been set, the Justice Department said.
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