POMONA -- Prosecutors charged a Claremont McKenna College professor Monday with filing a false report and insurance fraud in connection with her report of her car being vandalized and spray painted with hate messages.

Kerri Dunn, 39, faces as many as six years in state prison if convicted as charged. She is set to be arraigned May 19 in Los Angeles County Superior Court in Pomona.

"You can't commit a hate crime against yourself,' said Los Angeles County District Attorney spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons. "So we couldn't file a hate crime charge against her.'

Dunn reported that her car was spray painted with racial and anti-Semitic epithets March 9, after she spoke at a free-speech seminar at the Claremont Colleges.

The professor told police she also found her car tires slashed, windows broken and $1,700 in property missing from inside.

Investigators, however, said two witnesses reported seeing the visiting assistant psychology professor vandalize her own car before the forum.

Dunn's report followed several other racially incendiary incidents at the Claremont College campuses, including a cross burning at Harvey Mudd College and a racial slur scribbled on a calendar.

"It has been a rough year here,' said Claremont McKenna student Calisha Myers, 18. "With everything else that has happened and having (Dunn) targeted it has been emotionally and mentally exhausting.'

Dunn's attorney, Gary S. Lincenberg, said in a statement Monday the professor would fight the charges and believed racial intolerance remains a problem in Claremont.

"We are disappointed that these charges were filed and look forward to responding to them in the courtroom,' Lincenberg said. "Professor Dunn maintains her innocence and hopes that this case will not divert attention from the racism problems on the Claremont College campuses.'

According to a criminal complaint, Dunn filed a false insurance claim March 10, the day after she reported the vandalism.

The two insurance fraud counts filed against Dunn on Monday are felonies. Each carries a possible penalty ranging from probation to 5 years in state prison. The charge of filing a false police report is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 6 months in county jail.

"False accusations that imply hate crimes prey on the legitimate concerns of the public who truly abhor violence based on race, ethnicity or sexual orientation,' Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley said in a written statement. "And those who make false claims should realize there is a penalty for doing so.'

Thom Mrozek, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office, said a federal investigation is still open and that federal prosecutors may still file additional charges against Dunn.

The Claremont Colleges canceled classes March 10 to allow students and faculty to participate in rallies and discussions about hate crimes and intolerance.

"As I have previously communicated, the college has cooperated with the investigation and will continue to do so,' said Claremont McKenna College President Pamela Gann in a prepared statement. "We also continue to believe that the best resolution of these events will be determined through a prosecution of the individual or individuals responsible for the vandalism.'

Claremont McKenna College placed Dunn on temporary paid leave while the incident was investigated. Her contract with the college expires June 30.

Students at the college are still struggling with the prospect that one of their professors may have lied to them.

"I am disappointed in the outcome, but it is good to know that there is no threat lurking in one of the colleges and that it was someone who went about getting attention in the wrong way,' Myers said. "I am glad that it is going to court and we will be able to get answers. There will be closure for people.'