A member of the Guam Air National Guard will be sentenced next year after he admitted to fraudulent use of federal housing allowance.

Matthew F. Untalan faces a maximum of five years in prison for the charge of fraudulent claim against the United States.

His sentencing hearing is set for 1:30 p.m. April 20.

Untalan pleaded guilty in a change-of-plea hearing on Dec. 22.

He recently signed a plea agreement in federal court admitting to fraudulently taking more than $30,000 in overseas federal housing allowance.

According to news files, Untalan is the ninth Guam Guard member during the past several years to be accused of crimes related to the housing allowance.

The other eight all pleaded guilty.

Court documents state that between August 2009 and the end of March 2012, Untalan was placed on active duty with the Guam Air National Guard.

Activated National Guardsmen members can sometimes be eligible for a federal overseas housing allowance, which is determined by their rank and rent costs and whether they have dependents.

Because Untalan was staying rent-free "at an entirely different address" from the one he claimed on his housing allowance report, he wasn't entitled to any housing funds, court documents state.

Prosecutors accused Untalan of submitting a "false and fraudulent" overseas housing allowance report sometime around August 2009.

In that report, court documents state, Untalan said he was paying $1,900 a month in rent and submitted a false real estate lease agreement between him and his sister for the rent.

"These submissions were false because the defendant, Matthew F. Untalan, fully knew that he did not pay rent to his sister to stay at that address and that the defendant Matthew F. Untalan lived at an entirely different address," according to the plea agreement.

Prosecutors also said Untalan submitted a fictitious Guam business license to support the false claim.

They added that Untalan's scheme continued through 2011.

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