The settlement was approved by the court in April 2009. In 2004, the SEC report noted "The great majority of the firm's agents are former commissioned or non-commissioned military officers.” The report was part of the proceedings in reaching a settlement with First Financial over charges that the firm "willfully violated the Securities Act of 1933 Section 17(a)(2) dealing with inter-state fraud" in marketing financial instruments to veterans. As of August 2006, Mary Shapiro, the NASD Vice-Chairman and President of Regulatory Policy and Oversight, continued to be critical of First Command, calling it an "unscrupulous organization" with an "awful" product. First Command's new president, Marty Durbin, responded to her criticism by stating, "It’s unfortunate that settling these charges still doesn’t mean it’s behind us. But it’s a futile effort to try to fight negative press and so we decided not to put a lot of energy that way." In 2006, First Command introduced long term care and property and casualty insurance. Later that year in December, First Command announced it had signed on as a corporate partner with the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl. In September 2007, Samantha Hilliard, First Command district advisor was featured in Newsweek. Hilliard received the 2007 realLIFEstories Client Service Award for her service to the widow of an Army officer killed in Iraq. The award was presented by the Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education (LIFE), a non-profit group dedicated to providing the public with information and education on life, disability, long-term care and health insurance. On July 4, 2008, ABC’s Good Morning America featured a story on a First Command sponsored charity the Package Brigade that sends care packages to troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. That same summer, the U.S. Department of Defense and the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve honored First Command with the Patriotic Employer Award, which is presented to companies and individuals for contributing to national security and protecting liberty and freedom by supporting employee participation in America’s National Guard and Reserve force. First Command established the First Command Education Foundation (FCEF) in 1983 and presently operates as an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity that is "dedicated to improving financial readiness through education and scholarship opportunities". In 2017, FCEF disbursed $114,484 in scholarship grants. The FCEF Chief Executive Officer received $155,540 in salary and other compensation during this same period.