Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Hershel Williams and Maj. Gen. James Hoyer, as they look at the newly unveiled Gold Star Families monument Saturday, Dec. 5, 2015, in Fairmont, W.Va. (Tammy Shriver/Times West Virginian via AP) THE EXPONENT OUT; THE DOMINION-POST OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT
Caz Craffy, 41, a onetime financial adviser in the U.S. Army from New Jersey, has pleaded guilty to swindling grieving Gold Star families out of millions through a series of insurance fraud schemes that spanned years.
The Colts Neck, New Jersey, resident admitted to 10 counts inside of a federal courtroom on Tuesday. That included guilty pleas to charges for wire fraud, securities fraud, making false statements on loan applications and more, his indictment shows.
“Those who target and steal from the families of fallen American servicemembers will be held accountable for their crimes,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement issued Tuesday. “Nothing can undo the enormous loss that Gold Star families have suffered, but the Justice Department is committed to doing everything in our power to protect them from further harm.”
According to Craffy’s plea agreement and an entry application for his plea, the onetime financial adviser admits that he enticed his victims to fraudulently invest in life insurance, committed mail fraud and lied on forms. He could face up to eight to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced in August.
Prosecutors explained in his indictment that when an active-duty service member dies, their family receives benefits, including a $100,000 payment to surviving beneficiaries. The payment must be made with just 2 weeks of the death. Up to $400,000 in additional benefits can follow for those beneficiaries who enroll in special life insurance programs.
Craffy had access to those families and all of their sensitive information as a financial adviser but prosecutors said from May 2018 through January 2023, instead of honoring his vow to provide Gold Star survivors aid “through financial education,” he ripped them off instead.
Court records indicate he stole just under $10 million over the span of four years from two dozen Gold Star families to invest in accounts he managed within private financial investment firms outside of the Army.
One FBI special agent investigating the case said Thursday that Craffy had convinced the families that his recommendations were sanctioned by the U.S. Army. In truth, beneficiaries of the deceased who tangled with Craffy ended up losing nearly $4 million.
Craffy, meanwhile, pocketed over $1.4 million in commissions for the illicit deals.
U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said Tuesday:
Caz Craffy admitted today that he brazenly took advantage of his role as an Army financial counselor to prey upon families of our fallen service members, at their most vulnerable moment, using lies and deception. These Gold Star families have laid the dearest sacrifice on the altar of freedom. And they deserve our utmost respect and compassion, as well as some small measure of financial security from a grateful nation.
We will use every means at our disposal to ensure that those who defraud our military families are held accountable. Caz Craffy now faces the prospect of years in prison for ripping off these families to line his own pocket.
How much he must pay in restitution has not yet been decided.
In an interview with the Washington Post this week, the mother of deceased Army Sgt. Thomas Anastasio who was defrauded by Craffy just two weeks after her loss said she didn’t feel satisfied with his plea.
“The way he destroyed so many lives, the way he was so manipulative and took advantage of us in such a vulnerable time, I don’t think that’s enough for what he did,” Sharon Hartz said. “I don’t think that’s justice.”
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