Hattiesburg, Miss - Jamie Jackson, 44, of Mendenhall, was convicted by a federal jury on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015, of six counts of theft of government funds and six counts of wire fraud for carrying out a scheme to defraud the Army out of recruitment incentive payments, announced U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis.
The evidence presented at trial showed that in 2006 the National Guard Bureau instituted a recruiting program called the Guard Recruiter Assistance Program (GRAP) to incentivize current service members to tell their friends and family about the benefits of joining the National Guard. Soldiers who contacted potential recruits and connected them with a National Guard recruiter were eligible to receive up to $2,000 in incentive payments if their recruit joined the Guard and went to basic training.
Jackson, a Captain working at Camp Shelby, was not eligible to participate in GRAP because he was working full-time for the Guard. The evidence at trial showed that Jackson created a GRAP account in the name of his nephew, an enlisted Guardsman who was eligible for GRAP payments, and began entering the names of potential recruits into the GRAP system, as if his nephew was assisting them in their recruitment. The evidence showed that Jackson got the names and personal information of these potential recruits when he tutored them to help them pass the ASVAB military entrance exam. After the recruits passed the ASVAB and joined the Guard, the incentive payments were sent to a bank account Jackson controlled. Three of the recruits testified at trial that Jackson's nephew had not assisted in the recruiting. Two of the recruits had never met Jackson's nephew at all.
Jackson will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett on April 9, 2015 at 1:30 p.m. He faces a maximum penalty of ten years in prison for one count of theft of government funds and up to one year in prison for each of the remaining five counts of theft of government funds. Additionally, he faces up to 20 years in prison for each of the six wire fraud counts, a fine of up to $250,000 per count, and a forfeiture judgment equal to the amount of money he illegally obtained. He will also be required to pay restitution to the Army.
The case was investigated by the Army Criminal Investigation Division, Defense Criminal Investigation Service and the United States Secret Service. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott Gilbert and Chris Wansley.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
