Braulio Marcelo Castillo

Braulio Marcelo Castillo (born 1967) is the former CEO of Strong Castle, a defunct information technology company based in Virginia.

In 2012, he was the subject of widespread controversy after it was revealed his company had received $500 million in government contracts due to his claimed veteran status, which consisted of ten months spent at the U.S. Military Academy Preparatory School before he dropped out after injuring his ankle playing football.

As of 2024, he is serving a life prison sentence at Buckingham Correctional Center for murder.

Early life and education Braulio Castillo attended the U.S. Military Academy Preparatory School (USMAPS), then located in New Jersey, for one year before dropping out following an ankle injury he suffered.

U.S. Military Academy Preparatory School students are formally enlisted in the U.S. Army as "invitational reservists", a status that permits them to voluntarily withdraw at any point prior to matriculation to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point without incurring any financial or service obligation. The preparatory school is operated for potential West Point cadets who lack the academic aptitude to immediately enroll in the U.S. Military Academy, but who have otherwise qualified for entry due to nomination by a dignitary.

After dropping out of USMAPS, Castillo enrolled at the University of San Diego where he was a linebacker on the school's football team. According to his application to the Small Business Administration, Castillo averred that he could not enjoy long walks with family members due to his ankle injury, describing it as a cross "that I bear due to my service to our great country".

Castillo was called to testify before the United States House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, during the course of which United States Senator Tammy Duckworth, a paraplegic veteran, sarcastically chided him: "I'm so glad you would be willing to play football in prep-school again to protect this great country".

Murder of spouse In 2014, Castillo murdered his wife, Michelle, then staged the homicide scene to make it appear like a suicide. Michelle Castillo was reportedly seeking $168,000 of annual alimony and child support from Braulio Castillo as part of the divorce.

According to testimony provided at trial from Castillo's 11-year-old son, his father bribed him with gold to obtain the code to the residence's security alarm, though the son was unaware of the reason Castillo wanted access to the home. In addition, Castillo's younger son had been in the residence on the night of the murder and testified to seeing his father present in the home, despite Castillo claiming not to have been inside the house for a year.

In a later letter to his father, the older Castillo child declared "I know you did it, you know you did it, we all know you did it".

Personal life With Michelle, Castillo has five biological and adopted children. Prior to his incarceration, he was active in McLean Bible Church.