A former Army recruiter was charged with theft of public money after he used his position with Ohio Job and Family Services to get a woman's personal identification information then signed her up as a potential Army recruit to gain $1,000, the Northern Ohio U.S. Attorney's Office announced Monday.
While serving as a disabled veteran outreach representative with Job and Family Services, Robert L. Lucks, 51, of Warsaw, gained the personal identification information of a customer's wife around April 17, 2009, authorities stated.
Lucks used this information to submit the woman as a potential soldier through an online account he had as a recruiter with the Army National Guard Recruiting Assistance Program (G-RAP), according to officials. The program gave cash incentives for recruiting soldiers.
In this case, the woman Lucks recruited said she didn't give Lucks her information to be used for G-RAP. He also fabricated the details of his relationship with her as part of his effort to gain the cash incentive, authorities stated.
As a result, Lucks received a $1,000 that he was not entitled to. The money belonged to the United States, according to officials.
The troubled G-RAP was suspended in 2012 and is now defunct, Army Times reported. It began as a way to increase slumping recruiting numbers during the war in Iraq and was highly successful. But later, it became the object of scrutiny for widespread abuse, according to Army Times.
Program participants, called recruiter assistants, could earn up to $2,000 per soldier they recruited into the Army National Guard, the Army Times reported.
The Ohio U.S. Attorney's Office stated assistants could recruit for other military branches as well.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Karrie Howard.
A charge is not evidence of guilt.
