YONGSAN GARRISON, South Korea — An 8th Army soldier was convicted Friday of fraudulently padding his — and his wife’s — military records to gain promotions.
But, like his wife who was convicted of similar charges in late October, he will be allowed to remain in the Army
Staff Sgt. Andre Gundy was sentenced to a reduction in rank to E-3, forfeiture of $500 a month for 24 months, a reprimand, three months of hard labor without confinement and 60 days of restriction.
The six-member panel convicted him of conspiracy to commit larceny, 11 counts of making false official statements and dereliction of duty.
Gundy had been accused of adding nonexistent awards and fraudulent associate’s degrees to the couple’s military records.
The panel heard testimony Thursday and deliberated for about two hours on Friday morning.
Prosecutor Capt. Cesar Casal asked the panel to sentence Gundy to two years of confinement, to reduce him in rank and to give him a bad-conduct discharge.
“You may not have a victim on this stand, but this is not a victimless crime,” Casal said.
“The victim is the E-5 that didn’t get promoted” because Gundy took his slot.
Civilian defense attorney Scot Sikes argued for leniency, pointing out that Gundy’s wife, Nekeda, was six months into a high-risk pregnancy, and that Gundy’s mother relied on him for financial support.
He also played down the seriousness of the crime.
“Arguably we have very few real criminals in the Army,” Sikes said.
“And Andre Gundy is no real criminal as we define it. He is simply a soldier who made some bad decisions.”
After the trial, Gundy told Stars and Stripes he was pleased with the verdict, though he maintains he did not intentionally defraud the government.
He said the Stars and Stripes article about his wife’s case in October contributed to his conviction.
“It’s a conspiracy charge. She couldn’t have committed conspiracy by herself,” he said.
“They felt like they had to convict me.”
One potential panel member was dismissed during jury selection for having read the article; the others told the lawyers they hadn’t read the report.
