A Poydras woman pled guilty to stealing veteran’s benefit checks of a deceased friend and taking pension check from her deceased father, the U.S. Attorney General's Office announced in a statement.

Diane Stafford, 52, and her friend, who was unnamed, evacuated to Florida after Hurricane Katrina, said the statement, where the friend died in February 2006.  According to the U.S. Attorney General’s Office, Stafford forged her friend’s signature and cashed veteran’s benefits checks from around the time of her friend’s death until August 2007, totaling over $12,000.

Additionally, Stafford was a joint holder on her father’s checking account and admitted to authorities that she cashed over $5,000 of her father’s pension checks from the Iron Workers Mid-South Pension Fund after her father’s death.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, she faces a $250,000 fine and a maximum of 15 years in prison.