A corrupt chief petty officer who helped fellow Navy leaders steal $2 million earmarked for disabled military personnel is now a convicted felon.

Before he departed the sea service, Construction Mechanic Chief Petty Officer Christopher Toups personally pocketed roughly $400,000 for his role in recruiting sailors to file bogus claims under the Traumatic Servicemembers Group Life Insurance Program, according to a plea deal finalized Thursday, Oct. 27, in San Diego.

“The Traumatic Servicemembers Group Life Insurance Program is designed to compensate service members who suffer serious and debilitating injuries while on active duty. Falsely claiming benefits from this program siphons money from deserving beneficiaries and makes medical care more costly for all of us,” Stacey Moy, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI San Diego Division, said in a prepared statement released in the wake of Toups’ plea. “This scheme is particularly egregious given the service members involved deceitfully served themselves for their own financial gain.

Neither Toups, 45, nor his San Diego-based attorney returned Coffee or Die Magazine’s messages seeking comment.