US Man Pleads Guilty to Running Identity Theft Scheme That Targeted Thousands of Servicemembers and Veterans

Robert Wayne Boling Jr., a 45-year-old US citizen, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, the US Justice Department said. Court records show he used stolen personally identifiable information to compromise bank accounts and steal money and veterans' benefits from thousands of US servicemembers and veterans. The scheme ran for five years, ending in July 2019, and Boling carried it out while living in the Philippines. He faces up to 40 years in prison.

Prosecutors describe Boling as the principal orchestrator. He received the personal data from co-conspirator Frederick Brown, who worked as a contractor medical records administrator for the US Army in South Korea from 2010 to 2015. The group also worked with dozens of money mules in the United States, who provided bank accounts to receive stolen funds and sent a portion on to the Philippines.

Boling was indicted in July 2019 with four co-conspirators. He was arrested in Los Angeles in May after being deported from the Philippines. Brown and Trorice Crawford have already pleaded guilty and been sentenced, while two others, Jongmin Seok and Allan Albert Kerr, remain at large.