Army Official Admits to Sickening Crimes

(NationRise.com) – An Army financial counselor has pleaded guilty to a horrific crime that worsened the suffering of mourning families.

Caz Craffy, a 41-year-old civilian employee with the Army’s Casualty Assistance Office, also worked for two other investment firms. His job was to help families properly manage money after receiving benefits over the loss of an active-duty relative. Gold Star Families can receive $400,000 in life insurance and an additional death gratuity of $100,000. That’s a larger sum of money than most families are accustomed to managing, so the Army provides financial counseling to help them cope.

However, Craffy took advantage of his position by advising clients to invest those funds with his other two firms. He deceived them by claiming that having his firms manage the money was part of the service and had been approved by the Army. None of those claims were true. In fact, a condition of Craffy’s employment forbade him from sharing his own opinions with clients.

Craffy managed to scam grieving families out of $9.9 million between 2018 and 2022. He used the money to initiate trades, often without asking the families first. He then earned large commissions when the portfolios performed well because of the money that he illegally invested. He earned over $1 million, while the families lost a combined $3.7 million.

Craffy faced several charges of wire and securities fraud. He could face up to 10 years in prison and millions in fines. The charges could carry up to 20 years each, but he received a deal in exchange for pleading guilty and agreeing not to file an appeal. He may also face additional time for lying to federal authorities and on loan applications. Craffy will learn his fate when he’s sentenced on August 21st.

The Department of Justice has not yet announced whether families will be compensated for their losses. However, Merrick Garland, the DOJ’s current attorney general, did state that his agency is doing everything possible to protect Gold Star Families from additional harm.