Caz Craffy, 42, was sentenced to 12 years and seven months in prison on Wednesday, Aug. 21, New Jersey U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said in a news release. He pleaded guilty up to 10 charges on Tuesday, April 16.

Craffy, also known as “Carz Craffey,” had been a major in the U.S. Army Reserve since 2003. His service in the Army ended in January 2023, according to military records.

According to court documents and affidavits, Craffy was a civilian employee who worked as a financial advisor at the Casualty Assistance Office between November 2017 and January 2023. He was responsible for providing financial education to families of soldiers killed on active duty and was not allowed to give personal opinions on what to do with surviving beneficiaries’ benefits.

Craffy also worked through two financial investment companies while working at the Casualty Assistance Office. He admitted that he failed to disclose his outside employment to the military, despite knowing that he could not participate in government business in which he had an outside financial interest.

Prosecutors say Craffy used his role as a financial adviser to the military to target military families, encouraging Gold Star families to invest survivor benefits in investment accounts he managed outside the military.

Craffy also lied to many Gold Star families who were convinced that Craffy’s advice and money management were approved by the military.

“Caz Craffy was sentenced to prison today for brazenly abusing his role as the military’s financial advisor to exploit the families of our fallen service members at their most vulnerable, dealing with a tragedy born of the patriotism of their loved ones,” Sellinger said in a statement. “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 a small measure of financial security from a grateful nation.”

Investigators said Craffy received more than $9.9 million from Gold Star families for his privately managed investment accounts. Craffy would manage that money and use it to make trades, many of which were not authorized by the families.

Craffy earned high commissions on these trades, personally making more than $1.4 million in profits, while the Gold Star families’ accounts lost more than $3.7 million.

“Families of service members who have sacrificed their lives for our country should receive care, respect and dignity from those assigned to help them secure survivor benefits,” said James Ives, deputy director of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service. “This outcome underscores the unwavering commitment of DCIS and our allies in law enforcement to ensure that those who abuse their official roles to prey on grieving military families are held accountable.”

A surviving beneficiary of a service member who dies on active duty is entitled to a $100,000 benefit and that service member’s life insurance policy up to $400,000. The military provides financial counselors to help grieving families navigate the payment process, which can take just a few weeks or months.

Craffy pleaded guilty to six counts of wire fraud, securities fraud, making false statements on a loan application, committing acts prejudicial to a personal financial interest and making false statements to a federal agency.

The prison sentence includes three years of supervised release for Craffy and bans him from contact with any member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

Craffy must also forfeit $1.4 million and pay an amount yet to be determined in damages.

“The money these survivors receive does nothing to alleviate their suffering,” said James Dennehy, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Newark Office. “However, it does help with the burdens they face, such as paying off a mortgage or paying their children’s college tuition. They believed Craffy was acting in their best interest, but instead he used their money as a way to make his own money.

“Heartless and despicable do not even begin to describe his crimes.”

Craffy earned his bachelor’s degree in finance from St. John’s University and his master’s degree in business administration from Rutgers University, according to his LinkedIn profile.

He was reportedly fired from Monmouth Capital Management in Point Pleasant in 2022. Documents show he also worked for Newbridge Securities Corporation and National Securities Corporation in Morristown, and Joseph Gunnar & Co. in Staten Island.

Craffy is also facing an ongoing civil complaint from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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