Servicemembers who were recently deployed or on temporary duty have another year to use gift certificates from a defunct Ohio-based company, the Defense Commissary Agency said this week.

To qualify for reimbursement of CertifiChecks certificates, individuals must have been deployed or on TDY between March 6 and July 31, DECA said.

CertifiChecks Inc. closed in February and filed for bankruptcy in April, effectively making hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of military gift certificates worthless.

DECA continued to cash the certificates at a loss but planned to stop the practice at the end of July.

The agency has accepted $590,000 worth of the gift certificates worldwide since the company went under.

The certificates were a popular gift bought by organizations and families.

About $20 million in certificates were purchased for use at commissaries over the past seven years, including more than $3.9 million in 2008 alone, DECA reported.