"One of the largest criminal investigations in the history of the Army"

Recruiting fraud, kickback scandal rocks Army
Soldiers received bonuses for persuading friends to sign up during Iraq, Afghanistan wars.
USA Today
Tom Vanden Brook
February 3, 2014

WASHINGTON — More than 800 soldiers are under criminal investigation for gaming a National Guard program that paid hundreds of millions in bonuses to soldiers who persuaded friends to sign up during the darkest years of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, USA TODAY has learned.

Fraudulent payments total in the "tens of millions"; one soldier allegedly pocketed $275,000 in illegal kickbacks, according to documents obtained by USA TODAY. At least four others made more than $100,000 each.

"This is discouraging and depressing," Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said in an interview. "Clearly, we're talking about one of the largest criminal investigations in the history of the Army."

McCaskill has scheduled a hearing Tuesday on the scandal before a panel she chairs on financial and contractor oversight. She has called top Army officials to testify. The Army declined to comment on the hearing or the investigations, said George Wright, an Army spokesman.

The Army National Guard launched the Recruiting Assistance Program in 2005 to bolster its ranks, which had thinned during the wars. It was later expanded to the the Army Reserve and active-duty Army. In essence, it paid soldiers for referrals of recruits. After audits turned up evidence of potential fraud, the program was canceled in 2012.
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