Veterans bilked out of millions in fraud scheme
Five people were charged with 14 counts of identity theft and fraud after authorities say they targeted both active and former servicemen and women, bilking millions of dollars from mostly elderly and disabled veterans, according to court documents unsealed in San Antonio Wednesday.
The fraudsters, who were based both in the Philippines and the United States, are accused of stealing the personal identifying information from thousands of military members, giving them access to Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs benefits websites.
Robert Wayne Boling Jr., Trorice Crawford, Fredrick Brown, Jongmin Seok, and Allan Albert Kerr were all charged with numerous counts of wire fraud, conspiracy and aggravated identify theft in connection to the heartless scheme.
“The crimes charged today are reprehensible and will not be tolerated by the Department of Justice. These defendants are alleged to have illegally defrauded some of America’s most honorable citizens, our elderly and disabled veterans and service members,” Attorney General William P. Barr said in a statement.
“Through today’s action, the Department is honoring our pledge to target elder fraud schemes, especially those committed by foreign actors using sophisticated means, and to protect the veterans of our great country. I am proud of the quick and effective work done on this case by our Consumer Protection Branch and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas, with strong investigative support from the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs. We all will continue to work together to ensure that our veterans and service members are protected from fraud.”
The scheme spanned several continents and countries, with Boling, an American, Kerr, an Australian, and Seok, from South Korea, all being captured in the Philippines. The other two Americans, Brown and Crawford, were arrested in Las Vegas and San Diego, respectively, according to court documents.
The indictment alleges that the five began the scheme back in 2014, when Brown stole thousands of military members’ information while working as a civilian employee on a US Army installation. Among the stolen information were names, dates of birth, social security numbers, as well as Department of Defense identification numbers.
Authorities claim Brown then provided the stolen information to Boling, who in turn used that information to defraud millions of dollars from military members’ bank accounts and veterans’ benefits payments alongside Kerr and Seok, who were in the Philippines during the years-long conspiracy.
“Our message is pretty simple,” said U.S. Attorney Bash. “It doesn’t matter where on this planet you reside. If you target our veterans, we’re coming for you. Our veterans were willing to risk everything to protect this Nation from foreign threats. Now it’s our turn to seek justice for them.”
The investigation involved agencies including the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, and the Veterans Benefits Administration’s Benefits Protection and Remediation Division. The U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, Philippine law enforcement partners, and the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the District of Nevada, the Southern District of California, and the Eastern District of Virginia, according to the indictment.
A spokesperson for the Veterans Affairs says the office has since taken steps to protect veterans’ data and are implementing additional measures to prevent such a breach from occurring again.