Robert Wayne Boling Jr., 45, a U.S. citizen who previously lived in the Philippines, has pleaded guilty for his role in an identity-theft and fraud scheme that victimized thousands of U.S. servicemembers and veterans, the Justice Department announced. According to court documents, Boling operated from the Philippines and received and exploited stolen personally identifiable information (PII) of servicemembers and veterans to compromise their bank accounts and steal money and veterans' benefits.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice

Thousandsservicemembers and veterans targeted (DOJ)
20 yearsmaximum per count, two counts
Jan 14, 2027sentencing date
151 monthsco-conspirator Brown's earlier sentence

"Those who courageously served our nation deserve our gratitude and protection — not to become targets for criminals seeking to profit from their sacrifice," said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, adding that the victims included elderly and disabled veterans. U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas said prosecutors had worked for years to bring Boling back from the Philippines, and Defense Criminal Investigative Service Director James R. Ives called defrauding those who defended the country "reprehensible."

How the scheme worked, prosecutors say

Boling's co-conspirator Fredrick Brown worked as a civilian medical records administrator for the U.S. Army in South Korea and took digital photographs of the PII of thousands of military-affiliated individuals, the Justice Department said. Brown provided the stolen data to Boling, who with other conspirators used it to compromise bank accounts and online government-affiliated benefits accounts. The group also worked with a network of money mules in the United States who provided accounts into which stolen funds could be deposited and helped send part of the money to the Philippines. Boling was deported by the Philippines to the United States in May 2026 to face the charges.

Boling pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. He is scheduled to be sentenced on January 14, 2027, and faces a maximum of 20 years in prison on each count; a federal judge will set the actual sentence under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. SC Media, citing CyberScoop, reported the scheme ran over a five-year period ending in July 2019 and that Boling was described as its principal orchestrator.

Source: SC Media

Boling is the third defendant to plead guilty in the scheme. Brown and Trorice Crawford previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 151 months and 46 months in prison respectively, the Justice Department said. Two other alleged co-conspirators, Jongmin Seok and Allan Albert Kerr, remain fugitives. The case was investigated by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, with help from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command and the Veterans Benefits Administration's protection division.