NASHVILLE, Tenn. A former Fort Campbell inspector whose job was to investigate misconduct has been accused of stealing the identities of Army personnel, including a soldier killed in combat, in a scheme to obtain thousands of dollars in loans from Fort Campbell FCU and Navy FCU.
James Jones, 42, was charged with using his position as an assistant inspector general at the Army post on the Kentucky-Tennessee line to obtain personal information on active-duty Army officers, some of whom were deployed to Afghanistan.
Jones, whose rank is sergeant first class, is accused of using the information including Social Security numbers and dates of birth to apply for loans in the officers’ names, the federal indictment said. He successfully obtained fraudulent loans from the two credit unions. Among those targeted was an enlisted soldier who had been killed in combat in Afghanistan, the indictment said.
Jones allegedly created fake e-mail accounts in the officers’ names as part of his loan applications and called the credit unions pretending to be the officers when following up on the applications. The indictment says Jones applied for a $12,000 loan from Fort Campbell FCU.
Jones withdrew cash from loans he fraudulently obtained, the indictment said, without specifying the amount. He also purchased a cashier’s check from Navy FCU, using funds from a loan he had obtained, the indictment charges.
Jones failed to make payments on the loans he fraudulently secured, it said.
When confronted by investigators, Jones tried to conceal his role by falsely accusing a deceased Army officer of planning the scheme, according to the indictment.
“This defendant abused a position of trust and used his position to specifically target those who serve our country, including certain officers who were deployed overseas, when he stole their identities,” Acting U.S. Attorney David Rivera said in announcing the indictment.
Jones was indicted on charges of aggravated identity theft, bank fraud and making a false statement to a financial institution. He also was charged with obstructing justice and making false statements to investigators. Those charges stem from allegations that Jones asked a colleague to delete information on his work computer in an alleged effort to impede the investigation, the indictment said.
