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U.S. Army financial counselor pleads guilty to defrauding Gold Star families
A United States Army financial counselor could face decades in prison for duping the families of fallen soldiers out of millions of dollars and, in turn, generating millions for himself through a life insurance scheme, authorities said.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Tuesday that Caz Craffy, who is also known as Carz Craffey, pleaded guilty to six counts of wire fraud and other criminal charges including securities fraud, making false statements in a loan application, committing acts affecting a personal financial interest and making false statements to a federal agency.
The 41-year-old from Colts Neck, New Jersey is scheduled to be sentenced in district court on Aug. 21. The maximum penalties for the charges include 20 years in prison for each count of wire fraud and securities fraud and five years in prison for the remaining charges, the Justice Department said in a news release. Craffy could also be ordered to pay fines as high as $7 million — twice what his victims lost in the financial scam — for all counts but one.
Craffy worked as a civilian employee in the Army between November 2017 and January 2023, serving as a financial counselor with the Casualty Assistance Office, where he was mainly responsible for educating the surviving beneficiaries of soldiers killed in action about their financial options, according to the Justice Department. Those beneficiaries could have rights to as much as $500,000 from the military. In addition to this adviser role, Craffy was also a major in the U.S. Army Reserves.
Authorities say that Craffy was prohibited as a military financial counselor from providing any advice based on his personal opinions to beneficiaries, who are called Gold Star families for the award given posthumously to service members who have died while on active duty. But, as he operated a private investment firm in secret, Craffy encouraged the families to invest their survivor benefits in accounts that he managed without notifying the Army.
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Most of the families were under the impression that Craffy, as their financial adviser, was offering guidance that had already been approved by the military when in reality he steered more than $9.9 million of their benefits into accounts that he used to make trades without their consent. Craffy earned commission from those trades, which were not always in the beneficiaries’ best interests. Gold Star families lost over $3.7 million during the scheme, while Craffy received more than $1.4 million in commissions taken out of their accounts. He admitted to these allegations as part of the guilty plea, according to the Justice Department.
Craffy was indicted last July for defrauding 20 Gold Star military families, CBS New York reported at the time, citing investigators working the case. Gurbir Grewal, director of the SEC Division of Enforcement, said in a statement once charges were brought that Craffy had “abused” his positions within the Army network “to manipulate grieving family members into transferring their life insurance and family survivor benefits … into brokerage accounts he managed,” according to CBS New York.
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CBS News
Kamala Harris will speak with “60 Minutes” tomorrow. Here’s what to know for the interview.
Voters will get the chance to hear from Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday as she presents her case for why she should be president in a “60 Minutes” election special.
For decades, “60 Minutes” has featured both Republican and Democratic nominees for presidents, but this year, former President Donald Trump backed out after previously indicating he would be on the show. Correspondent Scott Pelley, who’d been set to interview Trump, will instead travel to Arizona’s Maricopa County, home to more than 60% of Arizona’s voters and a critical battleground in a key swing state.
One thing is certain about the election; with the U.S. deeply involved in both the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, whoever wins on Nov. 5 will become a wartime president.
What Harris will discuss
Israel’s war started one year ago after Hamas launched a surprise terror attack and correspondent Bill Whitaker will discuss the ongoing war with Harris.
Harris will also discuss the economy, immigration, her record as vice president and the differences between herself and Trump.
Democratic vice presidential candidate Gov. Tim Walz will also appear.
Whitaker joined the Democratic ticket on the campaign trail this week to gain insight into their platform’s priorities and values, and what the candidates believe voters should know.
Why Trump pulled out of the “60 Minutes” interview
Leading up to the candidate hour, Trump, through campaign spokespeople, was the first candidate to accept the “60 Minutes” request to be interviewed for the special, according to CBS News. It had been agreed that both candidates would receive equal time during the broadcast.
Trump last sat down with 60 Minutes in 2020. He walked out during the interview with Lesley Stahl. Trump referenced the incident on Tuesday night at a Milwaukee press conference when asked about his decision not to participate in the Oct. 7 “60 Minutes” election special.
“Well, right now, I went to – they came to me and would like me to do an interview, but first I want to get an apology, because the last time I did an interview with them, if you remember, they challenged me on the computer,” Trump said. “They said the ‘laptop from hell’ was from Russia, and I said it wasn’t from Russia. It was from Hunter, and I never got an apology, so I’m sort of waiting. I’d love to do ’60 Minutes.’ I do everything.”
The Republican nominee for president emphasized that he felt he was owed an apology from “60 Minutes.”
“Let’s see if they do it. I wouldn’t mind doing 60,” Trump continued. “I’ve done ’60 Minutes’ a lot.”
In a statement on Tuesday, Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung said that Trump’s team had not agreed to an interview.
“Fake News,” Cheung said in a post on X. “60 Minutes begged for an interview, even after they were caught lying about Hunter Biden’s laptop back in 2020. There were initial discussions, but nothing was ever scheduled or locked in. They also insisted on doing live fact checking, which is unprecedented.”
Previous Trump, Harris appearances on 60 Minutes
Trump previously sat down with “60 Minutes'” Mike Wallace in 1985, Pelley in 2015 and Lesley Stahl twice in 2016, first in July of that year and then again in November of 2016. He also spoke with Stahl again in 2018 and 2020.
Harris previously sat down with Whitaker last year. She also was interviewed by Norah O’Donnell, “CBS Evening News” anchor and “60 Minutes” contributing correspondent, in 2020.
