"Those who courageously served our nation deserve our gratitude and protection — not to become targets for criminals seeking to profit from their sacrifice," A. Tysen Duva, assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, said in a statement.
Robert Wayne Boling Jr.: guilty plea and potential penalty
Robert Wayne Boling Jr., a 45-year-old U.S. citizen, pleaded guilty to running an expansive identity-theft and fraud scheme that targeted thousands of U.S. servicemembers and veterans, federal prosecutors announced. Boling admitted to exploiting stolen personally identifiable information (PII) to compromise victims’ bank accounts and to steal money and veterans’ benefits over a five-year period ending in July 2019. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering and faces a statutory maximum of up to 40 years in prison at sentencing.
How the scheme operated: stolen PII, compromised accounts, and money mules
Prosecutors say Boling received PII on thousands of military‑affiliated individuals and used that sensitive data to compromise a range of accounts belonging to servicemembers and veterans. The crew then moved stolen funds through a network of dozens of money mules in the United States, who provided bank accounts to receive deposits and forwarded portions of the proceeds to the Philippines.
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See what we buildCo‑conspirators and unresolved cases
Boling was originally indicted in July 2019 alongside four co‑conspirators; a warrant for his arrest issued in October 2022. Two alleged co‑conspirators, Frederick Brown and Trorice Crawford, previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced to prison terms of 151 months and 46 months, in 2021 and 2020 respectively. Other alleged co‑conspirators, Jongmin Seok and Allan Albert Kerr, remain at large. Prosecutors describe Boling as the "principal orchestrator of the scheme."
Source of the stolen data and Boling’s background, per the indictment
According to court records, Brown provided Boling with the PII of thousands of military‑affiliated individuals. Brown worked as a contractor medical records administrator for the U.S. Army in South Korea from 2010 to 2015, prosecutors said. The indictment also says Boling was raised in South Korea as a U.S. military dependent and that he lived in Angeles City, Philippines. Authorities say prosecutors spent years working to bring Boling back to the United States to face charges; Boling was arrested in May in Los Angeles after being deported by the Philippines.
What this means for U.S. servicemembers, veterans, and U.S. prosecutors
- U.S. servicemembers and veterans: Prosecutors say victims included elderly and disabled veterans; the scheme targeted PII and directly affected bank accounts and veterans’ benefits, underscoring the personal financial risk when records are stolen and misused.
- Financial institutions and anti‑fraud teams: The operation relied on domestic money mules who accepted deposits into U.S. accounts and transmitted proceeds overseas, a pattern that highlights the role of intermediary accounts in laundering proceeds from identity theft affecting military personnel.
- Federal prosecutors: The case reflects multi‑year investigative work, an international element requiring deportation for physical custody, and a prosecutorial strategy that has already produced guilty pleas and substantial prison sentences for some co‑conspirators.
“This defendant and his fellow fraudsters served themselves by stealing from those who selflessly serve our country,” Justin R. Simmons, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas, said in a statement. “We will always work tirelessly to fully prosecute those who prey on others in this manner, especially when the victims of those crimes are servicemembers.”
Boling’s guilty plea resolves a long‑running case that began with a July 2019 indictment and grew to include multiple defendants, prison sentences for some members, and ongoing efforts to locate others who remain at large. With sentencing pending and two alleged co‑conspirators still not in custody, prosecutors and affected communities will be watching whether remaining defendants are brought to justice and how restitution or recovery for victims proceeds.
