A former sergeant first class in the U.S. Army and recruiter has pleaded guilty to engaging in a fraudulent scheme to defraud a credit union by using her position to obtain personally identifiable information of recruits and recruit candidates, and then submitting fraudulent bank account applications to the credit union on their behalf.
Jane Crosby, 35, of Jersey City, New Jersey, pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, between September 2023 and December 2023, 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.
Such accounts are intended to facilitate the direct deposit of soon-to-be service members’ salaries upon their joining 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 them to deposit fraudulent checks and withdraw funds.
The bank fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offence.
The aggravated identity theft count carries 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 offence.
