A Colts Neck man who pleaded guilty to defrauding Gold Star families while he was a U.S. Army financial adviser was sentenced to 151 months in prison.
41-year-old Caz Craffy pleaded guilty to six counts of wire fraud and four other related charges in April. U.S. District Judge Georgette Castner sentenced Craffy in a Trenton federal court on Wednesday.
“Caz Craffy was sentenced to prison today for brazenly taking advantage of his role as an Army financial counselor to prey upon families of our fallen service members, at their most vulnerable moment, when they were dealing with a tragedy born out of their loved one’s patriotism,” U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.
Prosecutors charged Craffy last July with obtaining over $9.9 million from Gold Star families who received a $100,000 death benefit and a soldier’s life insurance policy of up to $400,000. Craffy urged the families to invest in accounts he managed privately; the Gold Star families lost more than $3.4 million on investments, while Craffy made unauthorized trades that brought in over $1.4 million in commissions.
Craffy is a major in the U.S. Army Reserve and has been enlisted since 2003. As a civilian employee in the Army from 2017 to 2023, he was responsible for providing financial advice to Gold Star families who receive benefits. Prosecutors say Craffy falsely told the vast majority of the Gold Star families that his management of their money was done with permission from the Army.
“The lengthy term of imprisonment imposed today is just punishment for this heinous and shameless crime,” Sellinger said.