A National Guard officer carried out a secret second marriage to a woman he met while posted in Mongolia, using a government travel card and forged documents to facilitate the double life, U.S. prosecutors allege. Maj. Collin Welch, 40, pleaded guilty Tuesday to stealing about $54,000 in government money and inducing the Mongolian woman and her daughter to remain in the U.S. unlawfully. The affair began in 2019, when Welch was with the Alaska National Guard and stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. In 2023, Welch moved to Washington with his family for a role with the District of Columbia National Guard that required extensive foreign travel. Welch charged the government for plane tickets for the Mongolian woman and her daughter to move to the United States in 2024.