. >> reporter: sharon hartz was not only deep in mourning over the sudden death of her 26-year-old son, sergeant thomas anastasio while serving in the military. >> his birthday right before. >> reporter: -- she was also totally overwhelmed with all of the arrangements that come with the death of a loved one. that's when the army told her that she had not only receive $500,000 in death benefits, but that she would be set up with an army financial counselor to help her with it. >> they insisted that we be educated on the finances, so they were properly handled. >> reporter: she drove to ft. dix, where she first sat down with craffy, caz craffy, an army civilian who held a civilian job offering advice to army families. >> what was he like when you first met him? >> very charismatic. >> that was a facade. craffy was a con man. >> i've lost a little over $200,000. now i can't afford to retire. i feel taken advantage of. i'm embarrassed. >> reporter: prosecutors say craffy was only supposed to be giving families generic guidance. instead, he held a second job as an investment manager in viol