Man found guilty of defrauding National Guard recruiting program

A San Diego man was found guilty on Feb. 1 of three counts of wire fraud following a seven-day trial at Fresno’s federal court, U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner said.

Joaquin Cuenca, 38, was found guilty of a scheme to fraudulently obtain bonuses in a California National Guard recruitment program.

According to trial documents, Cuenca defrauded the Guard Recruiting Assistance Program out of thousands of dollars.

The program offered a financial incentive to members of the National Guard and recruiting assistants who nominated new soldiers. If a recruiting assistant referred a potential National Guard member to a recruiting office, the assistant was eligible to receive $1,000 if that person enlisted and $1,000 more when that person left for basic training.

The program was discontinued after widespread fraud was discovered.

Cuenca is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd on May 16. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine for each of his three counts of wire fraud.

This story was originally published February 2, 2016 at 9:50 PM with the headline "Man found guilty of defrauding National Guard recruiting program."