Los Angeles – The California National Guard’s former bonus and incentive manager has entered into a plea agreement Monday in which she admits to submitting $15.2 million dollars in false and fraudulent claims to the U.S. Department of Defense.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office of Central California in a release Monday said the plea agreement was filed in federal court in Los Angeles charging Retired Master Sergeant Toni L. Jaffe, 52, of Citrus Heights with making a false claim against the United States.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron May of the Major Frauds Section said for over 15 years, Jaffe “was the bonus and incentive manager for the California National Guard. As part of her plea agreement, Jaffe has admitted that beginning in at least the fall of 2007 and continuing to on or about October 6, 2009, she routinely submitted false and fictitious claims on behalf of her fellow California Guard members.”

May said: “Jaffe admitted that she submitted claims to pay bonuses to members of the California National Guard whom she knew were not eligible to receive the bonuses and to pay off officers’ loans even though she knew the officers were ineligible for loan repayment. According to the plea agreement, Jaffe admits responsibility for $15.2 million in wrongfully paid bonuses and loan repayments. An audit of the full loss amount is ongoing.”

U.S. Attorney André Birotte Jr. said the “deliberate misappropriation of tens of millions of dollars of federal government money is unacceptable, and those responsible for stealing federal money through fraud will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Birotte said: “We hope this federal case sends a clear message that we will continue to safeguard federal funds against fraud and abuse, whether it occurs within the California National Guard or elsewhere.”

The incident occurred in January 2009, May said, “when Jaffe submitted a fraudulent claim on behalf of a California National Guard officer resulting in the payment of a $20,000 Critical Skill Retention Bonus to which he was not entitled.”

In the U.S. Attorney’s release, Major General David Baldwin, Adjutant General for the California National Guard, said the state Guard “has been fully cooperating in this investigation from the beginning. We applaud the U.S. Attorney’s decisive action in this case.”

The charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and a fine of $250,000 or two times the gross gain or gross loss. The maximum sentence also includes three years of supervised release. May said “as part of her plea agreement, the defendant is also required to pay restitution to the United States, which is currently estimated to be $15.2 million.”

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