U.S. Attorney Gregory Kehoe announces charges Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, against 11 people in a scheme to obtain military access. | Michelle Corum, Jacksonville Today
Published on February 4, 2026 at 3:55 pm
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Eleven people, mostly Chinese nationals, were indicted Wednesday on charges of marriage fraud and bribery — and they also were accused of trying to obtain cards that would have given them access to U.S. military facilities.
Gregory Kehoe, U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Florida, says the indictment includes two counts against each of the 11 people. Those counts are for conspiracy to recruit U.S. citizens to enter fraudulent marriages with citizens of the People’s Republic of China, and a bribery conspiracy to obtain Defense Department common access cards, known as CACs.
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Kehoe says the attempts to obtain the cards were especially concerning.
“It’ll give you access to military facilities, not only here in Jacksonville and not only throughout the United States, but throughout the world,” Kehoe said.
The bribery scheme was foiled early last year when one of the suspects was paying $3,500 to active servicemen and the other employees at Jacksonville Air Station and was arrested, Kehoe said.
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That person, Raymond Zumba, and three other U.S. Navy members charged in the investigation previously have pleaded guilty. The others are Brinio Urena, Morgan Chambers and Jacinth Bailey. Their sentencing hearings are pending.
With those cases, the total number of people charged in the broader probe comes to 15.
Kehoe says authorities are looking into whether any of the suspects were working for the Chinese government and why they quickly wanted CAC cards. The scheme began around March 2024 and continued through February 2025.
Norman Dominesey, special agent in charge at the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Southeast Field Office, said the investigation began after someone suspected criminal activity and reported it to NCIS.
The individual told investigators that Zumba, a Navy reservist, wanted to obtain fraudulent common access cards, Dominesey said.
Zumba said the common access cards would be used for Chinese nationals to obtain services afforded to military personnel and their families, such as access to military commissaries and use of the base Navy exchange, Dominesey said.
Further, having common access cards would help them if they were ever stopped and questioned by local police, he said.
