California Guard Auditor Blows Whistle on Slush Fund

The Washington Post ^ | October 10, 2010 | Charles Piller

[khnyny]

SACRAMENTO - Master Sgt. Toni Jaffe was known as "the M&M lady" because she decorated her office cubicle with keepsakes of the confection's advertising characters. But the treats she handed out to members of the California Army National Guard are now the subject of a criminal investigation.

From 1986 until her retirement last year, Jaffe's job with the Guard was to give away money - the federally subsidized student-loan repayments and cash bonuses that the Guard is supposed to use to attract recruits and encourage Guard members to reenlist.

Instead, according to a Guard auditor turned federal whistleblower, as much as $100 million has gone to soldiers who didn't qualify for the incentives, including some who got tens of thousands of dollars more than the program allows.

For years, the auditor and other Guard officials alleged in interviews or internal documents obtained by McClatchy Newspapers, California's incentives program was operated as a slush fund that was doled out improperly to hundreds of soldiers with fabricated paperwork, scant supervision and little regard for the law.... A McClatchy Newspapers investigation, including a review of thousands of Guard documents gathered or prepared by auditors and other officials and sworn statements from managers who replaced Jaffe, found evidence that from 2001 until last year Jaffe often provided improper or illegal bonuses and loan payments.

The documents show that her actions were overlooked or ignored by recruiters and officers up the chain of command. Some recruiters appear to have benefited personally. The documents also show that state Guard officials failed to fix the incentives program despite warning signs going back years

[khnyny]

Sounds like this person may be taking the fall for a whole host of co-conspirators. Master Sgt. Toni Jaffe retired last year...I wonder if she will lose her pension, etc.

[mazda77]

She won’t lose it but just like any other person in the service will attest, her bottom line after paybacks will be a goose egg. Furthermore, those who received the tained disbursements will see the brig and/or other similar pay corrections.

[mazda77]

In late August, after Clark came forward, the Justice Department, the FBI, the IRS and the Army Criminal Investigation Division launched a criminal probe into the California program, in the process taking over Clark's audit, which was never completed.

Here we go again, into the DOJ black hole. No racial inference suggested or intended.

[CivilWarguy]

With this background Obama should appoint her Treasury Secretary.

[Tamzee]

A lot more detail in this similar article, including names and remarks of some of the individuals who got obscenely inflated payments...

Looks like they also identified some instances of falsified documents showing blatant fraud.

http://www.modbee.com/2010/10/09/1376910/audit-reveals-graft-in-guard.html

[STD]

I bet this woman shares the same pigment coloration as Holder and Hussein. Anyone wanna take my bet?

[ScreamingFist]

Even more detail here.....

http://www.montereyherald.com/state/ci_16303178?nclick_check=1

[MSF BU]

That is the beauty of the UCMJ, the nonsense factor is considerably less. We need to move everybody responsible off the public payroll and into Fort Leavenworth. Depending how back this goes, there may be some pensions eliminated in additions to careers being over.

[khnyny]

Thanks for the additional info!

[khnyny]

This story needs to be tracked, imho, as this is just such blatant fraud and theft. The military and government need to be held to the same standard of law as the general population. When that doesn’t happen, you end up with a fascist dictatorship where the rights of every citizen are at risk.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks khnyny. October surprise.

A McClatchy Newspapers investigation, including a review of thousands of Guard documents gathered or prepared by auditors and other officials and sworn statements from managers who replaced Jaffe, found evidence that from 2001 until last year Jaffe often provided improper or illegal bonuses and loan payments. The documents show that her actions were overlooked or ignored by recruiters and officers up the chain of command. Some recruiters appear to have benefited personally. The documents also show that state Guard officials failed to fix the incentives program despite warning signs going back years...

[Tamzee]

most welcome... thanks for thread:-)