Army injustice: Thousands of soldiers slapped with misleading criminal record | Digital Originals
Soldiers and veterans say the Army's investigation of a now-defunct recruiting program left them with a criminal record even though they were never charged.
Army investigators are reviewing and correcting the records of service members stuck with a false arrest record for years after participating in a now-defunct recruiting program known as G-RAP, but one lawyer says it won't stop victims from seeking compensation.
"We are thankful for their admission of liability, but that’s not going to stop the lawsuits," attorney and retired Green Beret Doug O'Connell told Fox News. "It’s only going to focus the lawsuits on damages."
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Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) Director Gregory D. Ford said Thursday morning that his agency is reviewing about 1,900 individual cases and expects that number might grow.
"We have conducted approximately 900 reviews," Ford said. "And what we're finding is the majority of those are requiring some form of correction."
More than 2,400 soldiers and veterans who were never charged with a crime likely have a misleading entry on their background check due to their participation in a now-defunct National Guard recruiting program known as G-RAP and its Army reserve counterpart.
"They’ve literally destroyed lives," O'Connell said of Army CID and noted that his office is already preparing lawsuits for about a dozen clients.
G-RAP ended in 2012 amid accusations of fraud and mismanagement, and the Army launched Task Force Raptor to investigate more than 106,000 people paid by the program. Lawyers and soldiers have said CID accused recruiting assistants of stealing recruits' personal information and using it to illegally collect referral bonuses.
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Only 137 soldiers were charged with a crime, but CID "titled" at least 2,580 soldiers in connection with the recruiting programs, creating a permanent record showing they were the subject of an investigation. Army spokesperson Matt Leonard said about 1,900 of those were forwarded to the FBI's criminal database, though Ford pointed out during Thursday's call that that figure could grow.
There, it shows up on a background check as an arrest — even though the soldiers were not arrested — and lists serious charges such as wire fraud and identity theft.
Ford said CID is now looking into whether there was enough information to "justify entering individuals in the criminal databases." CID expects to complete the review by the end of this year and begin corrective actions.
Many soldiers say their military careers have been stalled, and veterans have lost jobs, been denied bank loans and weapons permits, and suffered other consequences in their civilian lives.
Lawyers and soldiers have long criticized the initial investigation as sloppy, alleging reservists called up recruits years after the fact and asked them to name the person who first referred them to the guard. If the recruit failed to say the recruiting assistant's name, the recruiting assistant was presumed to have committed fraud.
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The Army demurred when asked whether victims might be compensated for the impacts titling had on their lives, saying that people who believe they have been harmed by the investigation should contact them via their website.
"At this point in time, we're just trying to do the right thing," said Brig. Gen. David Mendelson, assistant judge advocate for military law and operations in the Army.
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"This is about dignity and respect for those who have been maybe wrongly noted in the FBI index," Mendelson continued. "It's correcting the record and then providing a forum and an opportunity for those individuals to seek the remedy they need."
Thursday's announcement follows years of virtual silence from authorities as soldiers demanded accountability. A small contingent of Republicans in Congress tried to get legislation addressing the titling system into the most recent National Defense Authorization Act and planned to do so again during the next legislative session.
Ford said CID is "committed to transparency across the board" as the reviews continue.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to include clarification from Leonard about the number of cases sent to the FBI.
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