I've been reading a series of books about life in the British Army during the early 19th Century, when they were fighting battles in India, Portugal, Spain and France. The books are written by Bernard Cornwell, and are not only fun to read, but from a historical standpoint they are most informative. Check them out...so, what's my point.
I just finished one of the books wherein it was described how the British Army used to (it was legal) engage in what was known as "crimping" where contractors were hired to lure men into uniform with all sorts of promises, none fulfilled, and then once signed up, new recruits were trained and sent mainly to those units who had extreme problems getting volunteers, such as in Australia and the Americas. Monthly pay promised to the men was sometimes skimmed off in various ways, and thus many officers and sergeants profited, the recruiting contractors profited even more. Apparently, this sort of recruiting business is still alive today.
I read in the Army Times online that a Chinese national in California was arrested and charged in a recruiting scam where he convinced 100 other chinese to pay him upwards of $450 as an "initiation fee", to join the Army, with a promise that such would lead to U.S. citizenship. He even issued fake uniforms, ID cards, etc. So...recruiting schemes from the 19th Century seem to still be alive in the 21st Century.
