A National Guard officer has admitted to stealing government funds and forging documents to support a secret second marriage, according to U.S. prosecutors. Maj. Collin Welch, 40, of Arlington, Virginia, pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., to theft of government money and unlawfully inducing two foreign nationals to remain in the United States. Welch is now awaiting sentencing, which is scheduled for December 3.

Welch began a relationship with a Mongolian woman in 2019 while assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. At the time, he was still married to his first wife, who had returned to Alaska for medical reasons. Welch created a fake divorce decree to convince the Mongolian woman he was single, then married her in Mongolia in 2022.

Federal prosecutors say Welch used his government travel card to pay for hotel rooms, plane tickets, and other expenses linked to his relationship, racking up about $54,000 in unauthorized charges. He also fabricated receipts, travel vouchers, and immigration documents—including false Social Security cards and letters from immigration authorities—to convince the woman and her daughter that they were legally allowed to stay in the country.

In 2024, Welch brought the woman and her daughter to the U.S. on tourist visas and married her again in Virginia, still without divorcing his first wife. When their visas expired, he continued to financially support them, providing more forged documents to hide their unlawful status. The woman and her daughter were later evicted from an apartment Welch had leased for them after he attempted to pay the rent with forged checks.

Welch’s attorney, Gregory Rosen, said deployments and time away from family put a strain on Welch, but added, "None of that changes the fact that Major Welch accepts full responsibility for his actions."

Welch’s plea agreement includes forfeiture of the stolen funds and a likely sentence of 10 to 16 months in prison, along with a fine of up to $55,000. He may receive a lighter sentence because he has no prior criminal record. The case was investigated by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Investigations Unit.

Lucy Chapman