Former Army Officer and JAG Attorney Pleads Guilty to Destruction of U.S. Army Property and Lying to Federal Investigators

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - A former Army officer and attorney assigned to the United States Army Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School (JAG School) in Charlottesville pled guilty today to multiple federal charges related to his destruction of U.S. Army property and subsequent false statements to federal investigators.

Manfredo Martin-Michael Madrigal, III, 38, a former resident of Charlottesville, Va., pled guilty today to one count of destruction of U.S. Army materials and three counts of making a false statement.

According to court documents, in February 2022, Madrigal was assigned to a staff position at the JAG School in the Training Developments Directorate, whose mission was to design and develop training products for the JAG Corps and the Army. Madrigal possessed an active security clearance and previously served overseas on sensitive operations.

In early 2022, Madrigal was under investigation by the U.S. Army and the JAG School for failing to report a previous conviction for driving under the influence (DUI). While his Army investigation was pending, Madrigal deleted, without authorization, online JAG training materials and filmed himself doing so while graphically describing his ill-will towards the Army. The FBI's investigation also revealed that Madrigal made a phone call to the Russian embassy in Washington, DC the same night that he deleted the training materials and then texted a witness that Russia wanted to know what he knew.

On February 22, 2022, Madrigal was discharged from the JAG School and claimed in his exit paperwork that he had no unreported contact with a foreign national. In April and May 2022, Madrigal was interviewed by the FBI about his actions. In these interviews, Madrigal made multiple false statements regarding his actions, including denying any involvement in the deletion of materials and that he only learned of the deletion from a coworker, as well as falsely denying his contact with a foreign national at the Embassy.

United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh of the Western District of Virginia and Stanley M. Meador, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Richmond Division, made the announcement.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command, and the United States Army investigated the case.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Joyce and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katie Burroughs Medearis, Vito A. Iaia, and Sean M. Welsh and are prosecuting the case for the United States.