An Army financial counselor in New Jersey has been accused of defrauding more than 20 Gold Star families out of $3 million.

Authorities say that Maj. Caz Craffy urged the families to invest their survivors benefits with firms that paid him commissions. He was charged with wire fraud, security fraud and making false statements.

An attorney for the victims issued a statement following the indictment.

"Today, the U.S. Attorney's office did the right thing - they arrested a criminal who stole from my patriotic clients, all Gold Star families. The fraud that was committed on these vulnerable Gold Star families was despicable,” the attorney wrote.

Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill also commented on the indictment.

“We have an obligation to support our Gold Star Families who have lost loved ones who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Rather than honor that obligation, Caz Craffy saw it as an opportunity to enrich himself and steal from these vulnerable families in mourning,” the congresswoman wrote.

Sherrill, herself a veteran, was involved in legislation that “requires the Department of Defense to develop a verification process for financial counselor annual disclosures to validate that those individuals are ‘free of conflict’ and fully poised to provide the best, impartial services to servicemembers and their families.”