An Army program designed to deliver new recruits ultimately served as a vehicle to defraud taxpayers of as much as $100 million, Army investigators told a Senate panel during a Feb. 4 hearing. “What we’re seeing here today is one of the largest criminal investigations in the history of the army, both by the sheer scale and scope of the fraud,” said Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., chair of the Senate Armed Services financial and contracting oversight subcommittee. Agents from the Army Criminal Investigation Command Division (CID) described how the Recruiting Assistance Program went out of control because of lack of oversight. The program was established in 2005 to boost recruiting for the Army National Guard, and later expanded to encompass the reserves and active component. Since the probe began, CID investigators uncovered five recipients who each received more than $100,000 in fraudulent money. One of them, who received $274,500, is now being prosecuted. The probe will continue through 2016, and includes uniformed officers and enlisteds – including some generals and colonels.