Army probing hundreds in recruiting fraud scheme

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Army probing hundreds in recruiting fraud scheme
By HENRY C. JACKSON
Associated Press
Feb 4, 3:41 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Hundreds of soldiers and others are under criminal investigation in what the military describes as a widespread scheme to take fraudulent payments and kickbacks from a National Guard recruiting program. The fraud cost the U.S. at least $29 million and possibly tens of millions dollars more, officials said Tuesday.

Two army generals revealed to a Senate panel on Tuesday new details of an ongoing investigation into a recruiting program put in place in 2005 to boost flagging enlistment during a crucial period of the Iraq War.

As many as 200 officers, including two generals, are suspected of participating in schemes to take advantage of a referral program that paid out cash bonuses ranging from $2,000 to $7,500 per recruit.

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., called the investigation "one of the largest that the Army has ever conducted, both in terms of the sheer volume of fraud and the number of participants."