With the recent sad news of the terrible incident in Afghanistan where a solider is suspected of shooting 16 civilians, information has been slow to be released on the situation. Reuters released an article this morning, revealing that the suspected shooter’s background before the military was in finance. Apparently the shooter, Robert Bales, worked for a number of shady, interconnected brokerage houses for a number of years before leaving the industry to avoid paying a million and a half judgement against himself for defrauding an elderly client.
From Reuters:
“Bales joined the Army 18 months after an Ohio investor filed an arbitration complaint alleging unauthorized trading, breach of contract and other abuses against him, his securities firm and the firm’s owner. In 2003, the arbitration panel ordered them to pay the investor $1.2 million, including $637,000 in punitive damages for willful or malicious conduct and $216,500 in attorneys’ fees. Bales never appeared before the panel and did not hire a lawyer to represent him. “
While the victim could have taken his issue with Bales to court to have his awarded retribution enforced, Bales was nowhere to be found.
“By that time, Bales had embarked on an Army career that included three tours of duty in Iraq and a fourth in Afghanistan. Even if Bales’s victim had pressed the claim, Bales had protection under laws that shield members of the military from some financial obligations. Any active-duty member of the military can apply for relief from outstanding financial obligations as long as he or she makes less in the service than before, said John Odom, a retired Air Force colonel and a partner at the law firm of Jones & Odom in Shreveport, Louisiana.”
Afghan shooting suspect did not pay fraud judgment | Reuters.