An Army Reserve officer was charged Thursday, going through allegations he defrauded Gold Star households by dropping $3.4 million whereas making $1.4 million in commissions.
Federal authorities on Friday stated that Caz Craffy, who they described as presently a significant within the Army Reserve, misappropriated cash between 2018 and 2022 that he was presupposed to be investing for households of useless troopers. As an alternative of helping them, he allegedly made them put their cash into funding accounts he privately managed outdoors official duties for the Army. In a single case, he allegedly misappropriated $50,000 from a minor whose mother or father died on energetic obligation.
On high of utilizing funding portfolios he managed himself, authorities say Craffy made high-risk investments far past what was agreed upon with the households, and didn’t correctly diversify these large investments, opening up these households to huge losses.
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“Stealing from Gold Star households whose family members made the last word sacrifice in service to our nation is a shameful crime,” U.S. Legal professional Normal Merrick B. Garland stated in an announcement. “As alleged within the indictment, the defendant on this case used his place as an Army monetary counselor to defraud Gold Star households, steal their cash, and enrich himself. Predatory conduct that targets the households of fallen American service members shall be met with the complete power of the Justice Division.”
Troopers are sometimes signed up for Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance coverage, or SGLI. That program, by the Division of Veterans Affairs, pays out $500,000 to households of service members who die on or off obligation. The army providers typically present households with monetary counselors to assist them handle the cash.
The Washington Submit was first to element the scheme in February. Craffy didn’t instantly reply to Army.com’s request for remark.
Craffy had been within the Army Reserve since not less than 2003, based on the fees. A LinkedIn profile utilizing his identify outlines an intensive background in finance, together with a bachelor’s diploma in finance from St. John’s College, and a grasp’s in finance from Rutgers Enterprise College. The fees say that Craffy has labored with not less than 5 wealth administration firms.
The Securities and Alternate Fee charged Craffy with six counts of wire fraud and one depend every of securities fraud, making false statements in a mortgage software, committing acts furthering a private monetary curiosity, and making false statements to a federal company. He faces as much as 20 years in jail.
“Moderately than assist Gold Star households finest use their survivor advantages, we allege that Mr. Craffy manipulated them to revenue from their grief,” Gurbir Grewal, director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division, stated in an announcement. “We owe an unimaginable debt of gratitude to those households who’ve sacrificed a lot in service to our nation. I’m grateful to the SEC employees for holding Mr. Craffy accountable for his shameless conduct and delivering some measure of justice to those unimaginable households.”
— Steve Beynon may be reached at Steve.Beynon@army.com. Comply with him on Twitter @StevenBeynon
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