FINRA Bars Caz Craffy After Defrauding Surviving Military Families

Caz Craffy (CRD# 5222223, a/k/a Carz Levinski Craffey) is a former broker last employed with Monmouth Capital Management LLC (CRD#:290248) of Point Pleasant Beach, NJ. His previous employers include Newbridge Securities Corporation (CRD#:104065) and National Securities Corporation (CRD#:7569) of Morristown, NJ, and Joseph Gunnar & Co. LLC (CRD#:24795) of Staten Island, NY. He has been in the industry since 2011.

FINRA began an investigation into Craffy on 11/10/2022 into his outside business activities (OBA.) The investigation began following a customer complaint to FINRA. The next day, Monmouth Capital terminated his employment due to his failure to disclose his OBA.

FINRA requested additional information from Craffy and on-the-record testimony. Additionally, FINRA was interested in the possibility that he had:

Actively traded customer accounts
Received loans or gifts from customers
Potential conversion of customer funds
Failed to disclose his OBA to Monmouth and FINRA as required

Craffy responded through legal counsel that he would not provide any documentation or testimony at any time. Therefore, FINRA permanently barred Craffy effective 12/08/2022, following his signature of an Acceptance, Waiver & Consent (AWC) letter, which neither confirmed nor denied the allegations.

Military Family Assistance

Craffy is the subject of a Washington Post article describing his activities where he worked directly with surviving families of deceased military members.

In addition to his broker job at Monmouth Capital, Craffy was also an Army civilian employee. His job was to assist surviving family with financial management of the life insurance policies they received after the death of their military family member. He befriended many of them under the guise of assistance with the large sum of money they received. Unfortunately, instead of helping them, he took advantage of these families.

Four military families have accused Caz Craffy of taking direct control of their funds through his brokerage. The families’ accounts declined collectively $750,000 through unauthorized trades that netted Craffy considerable commissions while leaving their brokerage accounts decimated. Both the SEC and the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division have spoken to the affected family members. The families are represented by civilian legal counsel.

In his assigned Army duties, he was to assist families with financial counseling and education. He never disclosed his employment with Monmouth to the Army, nor did he notify Monmouth of his Army employment. One widow believed moving the life insurance balance to Monmouth was part of the process. The Army learned of his Monmouth employment when a family member filed a complaint. There were no checks and balances to prevent such a conflict of interest.

Craffy’s Army affiliation was terminated on January 4, according to a spokesman. While Craffy’s employment was to offer advice on estate and financial planning, he went a step farther and recruited these military families as new customers for Monmouth. Families unfamiliar with the process believed Craffy had their best interests in mind.

Caz Craffy told several of the families that there were losses due to the pandemic. But in December of 2021, the market saw a third consecutive year of growth. In text messages to the families, Craffy told at least two of the clients not to look at their statements and to be patient. The clients discovered the deception after speaking with investigators.

Did You Invest With Caz Craffy?

Silver Law Group represents investors in securities and investment fraud cases. Our lawyers are admitted to practice in New York and Florida and represent investors nationwide to help recover investment losses due to stockbroker misconduct. If you have any questions about how your account has been handled, call to speak with an experienced securities attorney. Most cases are handled on a contingent fee basis, meaning that you won’t owe us until we recover your money for you. Contact us today at (800) 975-4345 and let us know how we can help.