A sergeant first class in the U.S. Army and U.S. Army recruiter has been charged for engaging in a fraudulent scheme to defraud a credit union by using her position to obtain the personally identifying information of U.S. Army recruits and recruit candidates and submit fraudulent bank account applications to the credit union on the recruits’ behalf.
Jane Crosby, 33, of Jersey City, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with one count of bank fraud and seven counts of aggravated identity theft.
Crosby appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leda Dunn Wettre in Newark federal court and was released on $100,000 unsecured bond.
According to U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger, documents filed in this case and statements made in court, Crosby submitted “Pre-Active Duty Membership” bank account applications to a credit union on behalf of seven U.S. Army recruits or purported recruits, without their knowledge or consent from Sept. 12, 2023, to Dec. 27, 2023.
Such accounts are intended to facilitate the direct deposit of soon-to-be service members’ salaries once they join the military.
These applications included the victims’ names and Social Security numbers as well as copies of their passports, driver’s licenses, and/or Social Security cards.
Once these credit union accounts were opened, Crosby, posing as the victims, applied for approximately $266,000 in loans and credit card accounts and used some of the accounts to deposit fraudulent checks and then withdraw funds.
The bank fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest.
The aggravated identity theft counts carry an additional consecutive mandatory minimum term of two years in prison and a maximum fine of up to $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.