National Guard worker gets 21/2 years for $15 million fraud
A former manager for the California National Guard has been sentenced to 21/2 years in federal prison for arranging $15.2 million in bonuses and other payments to fellow guards who weren’t eligible for them.
A U.S. attorney’s statement says 52-year-old Retired MSgt. Toni Jaffe received the sentence May 30 in a federal court in Los Angeles.
In a July plea agreement, Jaffe, a bonus and incentive manager for the National Guard for 15 years, said she submitted false and fictitious claims from 2007 to 2009, giving bonuses and repaying loans to ineligible guard members.
Under the agreement Jaffe is also required to pay the $15.2 million in restitution. AP
Marines expand probe of urination video
The Marine Corps is investigating possible additional misconduct by members of a battalion who drew worldwide attention in a video that purports to show them urinating on Afghan corpses.
A Marine spokesman May 31 revealed the follow-up probe, which has not been publicly announced.
The spokesman, Col. Sean D. Gibson, declined to provide details of the possible additional misbehavior. He says the decision to follow up was made by Lt. Gen. Richard Mills.
Mills has reviewed results of two initial investigations resulting from disclosure in January of the video showing four Marines in full combat gear urinating on the bodies of three dead men. One investigation looked at possible criminal charges; the other looked at leadership issues in the Marines’ unit. No results have been released. AP
