A New Jersey Army recruiter admitted to stealing the identities of seven potential recruits in a scheme to fraudulently take out hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey, announced this week.
Former Sgt. 1st Class Jane Crosby, 35, pleaded guilty to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft in federal court, according to a press release, after using the victims’ personal information to apply for $266,000 in loans and credit card accounts and to withdraw money and deposit fraudulent checks.
Court documents and statements say that between around September and December 2023, Crosby used the prospective recruits’ personal information to apply for special credit union accounts intended for future service members, the office said. After creating the accounts without the victims’ knowledge, Crosby used their identities for loan and credit card applications and used the accounts for illegal banking transactions.
One document said that multiple calls from Crosby’s office phone number were made to a credit union, which was not named, where the caller impersonated two of the victims while trying to access their accounts.
At the time of the scheme, Crosby was assigned to a recruiting station in East Orange, New Jersey, and used would-be recruits’ personal documents that included passports, driver’s licenses and Social Security cards.
The recruiter faces up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine for bank fraud as well as an additional two years with a maximum fine of $250,000 for the aggravated identity theft.
Military Times reached out to the Army to confirm Crosby’s current status.
Eve Sampson is a reporter and former Army officer. She has covered conflict across the world, writing for The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Associated Press.
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