A former United States Army recruiter in New Jersey pleaded guilty last week in a federal court in Newark, N.J., to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. Sgt. 1st Class Jane Crosby, 35, was accused of submitting “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.
Crosby pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton.
2024 Indictment
The former U.S. Army non-commissioned officer was charged in September 2024 for submitting the applications between September 12, 2023 and December 27, 2023. At the time, she was assigned to a recruiting station in East Orange, N.J.
The accounts were 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 United States Department of Justice (DoJ) announced at the time of Crosby’s charging.
None of the recruits, only one of whom even joined the U.S. Army, were aware of her use of their identities. Most of the efforts to open the accounts failed after the applications and checks were rejected by the credit union.
Two other recruits had tried to join the U.S. Army but were unsuccessful for unspecified reasons, and the other four contacted by the recruiters didn’t pursue enlistment.
Didn’t Cover Her Tracks
Crosby’s fraud scheme quickly unraveled, and it appears she did little to cover her tracks.
On several occasions while applying for the loans or credit checks, Crosby called the bank’s customer service center posing as a recruit and attempted at least twice to disguise her voice, even as the calls came from phone lines associated with her. One of those lines was at her recruiting office, with another listed in her email signatures.
According to a report from Task & Purpose, in November 2023, the unnamed credit union issued a credit card to Crosby in one of the recruits’ names, after which she immediately changed the address on the card from the recruit’s home address to the East Orange recruiting station. The recruiter then used the credit card to purchase two plane tickets from Las Vegas to New York.
Serious Prison Time
A sentencing date has not been announced. However, the DoJ did confirm that Crosby faces more than three decades in prison.
“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 offense, whichever is greatest. 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 offense,” the Justice Department explained.
Neither the U.S. Army nor the DoJ provided any details on when Crosby joined the service or for how long she has served as a recruiter.
