Bales Defrauded Ohio Couple Who Say He Owes $1.3 Million

Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales swindled an Ohio couple of more than $600,000 when he served as their stock broker in 2000, according to records of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

An arbitrator in 2003 ordered Bales to pay more than $1.3 million in damages to Gary Liebschner of Carroll, Ohio, and his wife. By then, Bales was already in the Army, having enlisted in November 2001, less than two months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, according to an Army statement.