Shameless major in US Army Reserves defrauded families of fallen soldiers of millions — and pocketed $1.4M in the process
A major in the U.S. Army Reserves has admitted that he cashed in on the deaths of active-duty soldiers by illegally investing some of the money given to their grieving family members.
On Tuesday, 41-year-old Caz Craffy, aka Carz Craffey, entered a U.S. District in Trenton, New Jersey, to plead guilty to six counts of wire fraud and one count each of securities fraud, making false statements in a loan application, committing acts affecting a personal financial interest, and making false statements to a federal agency, according to a press release from the DOJ.
By all accounts, Craffy, a major in the U.S. Army Reserves, was a vulture, preying on the families of fallen servicemen and women, often referred to as Gold Star families. When a servicemember dies while on active duty, their immediate family receives a payment of $100,000 plus up to $400,000 in life insurance for a possible total of $500,000.
During his years as a civilian financial counselor for the U.S. Army, Craffy sought out Gold Star families and offered to help them invest some of their survivor money with two private financial firms where Craffy was also secretly employed. Because of his position as a U.S. Army Reserves major and his work with the U.S. Army, the families trusted Craffy, believing that he was operating in an official Army capacity rather than as a civilian.
Craffy took full advantage of their ignorance. Between May 2018 and November 2022, he convinced members of at least 24 Gold Star families to give him $9.9 million for investment purposes, the Daily Mail reported. Craffy must have been lousy at investing since the Gold Star accounts he managed then lost nearly $3.7 million. However, he still earned $1.4 million in commissions, all "drawn from the family accounts," the DOJ statement said.
The financial harm he inflicted on vulnerable American patriots is nothing short of devastating. He lost most of the $400,000 one widow had given him — money that was supposed to help pay for her kids' college fund. He even lost $50,000 that belonged to a 13-year-old girl.
Gold Star mom Sharon Hartz, who was already reeling from the loss of her son, Sgt. Thomas Anastasio, called the added grief of the defrauded money "unimaginable." "He disrespected me," she said of Craffy. "He disrespected my son. My family."
"Those who target and steal from the families of fallen American servicemembers will be held accountable for their crimes," said Attorney General Merrick Garland. "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."
Though the maximum sentence for wire fraud alone would have Craffy facing more than 100 years behind bars, he is instead expected to be sentenced to somewhere between eight and 10 years. As part of his plea agreement, he promised to repay the Gold Star families, including giving them the proceeds of the sale of his home. He may also face criminal prosecution in a military court as well.
Craffy is scheduled to be sentenced August 21.
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If you live near D.C., consider a visit to the Vietnam Memorial Wall next week to witness the reading of the names of the fallen and to honor them.
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