. >> reporter: robert deandrea served two tours of combat duty in iraq and now asked to return his $20,000 bonus. >> or i'm in violation of federal law. >> reporter: what did you think when you first got that letter saying you owed money? >> anger, we didn't do anything wrong. we stepped forward, volunteered and did our duty and now we're getting slapped in the face for it. >> she was signed by a military recruiter. in some cases some of them knew they were not really eligible for enlistment bonuses but signed them up anyway. in 2011 a so-called incentive manager for the california guard pleaded guilty to filing false claims totally $15 million. three other officers also pleaded guilty to fraud. group of critical skills to almost everybody that was joining was eligible. so in a lot of instances soldiers would get paychecks or -- far and above greater than their normal pay. >> reporter: rather than forgiving them, which were in some cases improperly handed out, the guard assigned auditors to track down the money. saying in a statement -- the california national guard doesn't have the author