First one.
BTW, the man who he bilked says he never saw a penny of the $1.4 million.
I understand that as many as seven other people and entire companies are charged with the same bilking crime, and that Bales was employed as a financial advisor.
As a Stryker SSG, Bales would have required, at a minimum, a full SECRET security clearance.
All of this would have been impossible to hide in the security investigation, so I’d guess that he worked for a company that engaged in bad practices.
Just a guess. Joining the army generally is not the decision of choice for someone with a million bucks stashed away someplace.