Robert Wayne Boling Jr. Pleads Guilty in Scheme That Used Stolen Data of Thousands of Servicemembers and Veterans

Published Oct. 21, 2026. Case status is current as of that date.

The personal information was taken by an insider. According to federal prosecutors, a civilian medical records administrator for the U.S. Army in South Korea photographed the identifying details of thousands of military-affiliated people and passed them to a U.S. citizen living in the Philippines, who used them to break into bank and benefits accounts belonging to servicemembers and veterans.

On Oct. 20, 2026, the Justice Department announced that Robert Wayne Boling Jr., 45, a U.S. citizen who previously lived in the Philippines, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering [1]. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 14, 2027, and faces a maximum of 20 years in prison on each conspiracy count. A federal judge will decide any sentence [1].

Status: Boling has pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing. Two co-conspirators have pleaded guilty and been sentenced. Two others named by prosecutors remain fugitives; they have not been convicted and are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

How the scheme worked

According to court documents, as summarized by the Justice Department [1]:

1. The data theft. Fredrick Brown, who worked as a civilian medical records administrator for the U.S. Army in South Korea, took digital photographs of the personally identifiable information (PII) of thousands of military-affiliated individuals.
2. The handoff. Brown provided the stolen PII to Boling, who was operating from the Philippines.
3. The account takeovers. Boling and his co-conspirators used the PII to compromise accounts belonging to U.S. servicemembers and veterans, including bank accounts and online government-affiliated benefits accounts, to steal money and veterans' benefits.
4. The money mules. The group worked with a network of money mules in the United States who provided bank accounts to receive stolen funds and helped send a portion of the money to the Philippines.

Prosecutors said the victims included elderly and disabled veterans. "This defendant betrayed our country by exploiting personal information belonging to thousands of military-affiliated individuals, including elderly and disabled veterans, in a calculated scheme to steal from those who have given so much," said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department's Criminal Division [1].

The release does not give a total dollar loss.

The people charged and their status

Robert Wayne Boling Jr., 45. Boling was deported by the Philippines to the United States in May 2026 to face charges. He is the third defendant to plead guilty in the scheme [1]. U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons of the Western District of Texas said his office had "worked for years to get Robert Boling Jr. back from the Philippines."

Fredrick Brown. The Army civilian records administrator previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 151 months in prison, according to the release [1].

Trorice Crawford. Described as a co-conspirator, Crawford previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 46 months in prison. The release does not describe Crawford's specific role [1].

Jongmin Seok and Allan Albert Kerr. Prosecutors said these two co-conspirators "remain fugitives." The release does not list the specific charges against them. No conviction has been reported for either, and they are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty [1].

The Department of Defense Office of Inspector General's Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) is investigating, with help from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Army Criminal Investigation Command and the Veterans Benefits Administration's Benefits Protection and Remediation Division. The case is part of the Criminal Division's Cyber-Enabled Scam Initiative [1].

Why this case matters to military families

Most identity theft stories start with a phishing email or a data breach. This one, as prosecutors describe it, started with an insider: a civilian medical records administrator for the Army. That matters because the victims did nothing wrong: they did not click a link or answer a scam call.

Once a thief has a name, Social Security number, date of birth and service details, they may be able to reset passwords, answer security questions, and redirect deposits, including benefit payments, to accounts controlled by money mules. The mule accounts are what let overseas operators move stolen money out of the U.S. banking system.

Red flags

• A benefit payment that is late, smaller than expected, or missing, or a notice that your direct deposit details changed when you didn't change them.
• Password reset or login alerts for a bank or government benefits account that you didn't request.
• New accounts, loans or credit inquiries on your credit report that you don't recognize.
• Mail or email confirming changes to your address, phone number or contact email on a financial account.
• Requests to "receive and forward" money for someone you met online or through a job ad. People who do this may be acting as money mules.

What to do if you're targeted

1. Contact the bank or benefits provider immediately using a number from your statement or the official website, and ask them to freeze the account, reverse unauthorized changes, and add extra verification.
2. Report identity theft and get a recovery plan at IdentityTheft.gov, the federal government's identity theft reporting and recovery site [2].
3. Place a fraud alert or credit freeze with the credit bureaus, so new credit can't easily be opened in your name.
4. Report online fraud to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov [3].
5. Never let anyone use your bank account to move money for them, however the request is framed.

Case status (as of Oct. 21, 2026)

Person	Court	Status as of Oct. 21, 2026	Source
Robert Wayne Boling Jr., 45	Federal (W.D. Tex. prosecutors with DOJ Criminal Division)	Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering (announced Oct. 20, 2026); sentencing Jan. 14, 2027	[1]
Fredrick Brown	Federal	Pleaded guilty; sentenced to 151 months	[1]
Trorice Crawford	Federal	Pleaded guilty; sentenced to 46 months	[1]
Jongmin Seok	Federal	Named by prosecutors as a co-conspirator; fugitive; specific charges not stated in release; presumed innocent	[1]
Allan Albert Kerr	Federal	Named by prosecutors as a co-conspirator; fugitive; specific charges not stated in release; presumed innocent	[1]

Statuses can change. Those not convicted are presumed innocent.

Sources

1. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, "Philippines-Based American Fraudster Pleads Guilty to Targeting Thousands of U.S. Servicemembers and Veterans," Oct. 20, 2026. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/philippines-based-american-fraudster-pleads-guilty-targeting-thousands-us-servicemembers-and
2. Federal Trade Commission, IdentityTheft.gov (accessed Oct. 21, 2026). https://www.identitytheft.gov/
3. FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) (accessed Oct. 21, 2026). https://www.ic3.gov/

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