United States of America v. Jasen Butler

Miami, Florida, criminal defense lawyers represented the Defendant charged with wire fraud, forgery, and money laundering.

Jasen Bulter, age 38, of Jupiter, the owner of Independent Marine Oil Services LLC, corrupted the competitive bidding process for military fuel contracts and submitted dozens of falsified documents such as wire transfer memos and invoices to multiple U.S. warships between August 2022 and January 2024. These ships were attempting to purchase fuel in international ports in Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Croatia to defend strategic American interests around the globe. Butler received over $4.5 million dollars in payments for phony expenses that Butler had not incurred.

After Butler came under scrutiny by Navy officials, he continued his scheme by concealing his identity from government officials. Butler adopted a false name and feigned employment by a fictitious fuel division of a different company. Butler used the millions in the proceeds of his crimes to personally enrich himself and purchase multiple multi-million-dollar properties in Florida and Colorado. Judge Middlebrooks has entered a preliminary order of forfeiture for those properties.

“The defendant stole millions of dollars from our military with a fake job, fake identity, and fake invoices,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “This administration takes defrauding the American military seriously with a prison sentence reflecting the seriousness of the crime.”

“The Defendant made his choice: to rip off the federal government and the Navy to line his own pockets. The Justice Department made its choice: to pursue maximum incarceration for the Defendant. In response, Judge Middlebrooks rightly ordered the Defendant imprisoned for 5 years,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Omeed A. Assefi of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “The Antitrust Division and its wonderful staff have zero tolerance for those who seek to corrupt competition.”

“This sentence reflects the seriousness of what the evidence at trial showed: a calculated scheme that targeted the U.S. military for personal gain,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. “The defendant submitted false documents, stole millions in taxpayer funds, and then tried to hide behind a fake identity when scrutiny began. When you defraud our armed forces, you are not just committing fraud, you are undermining operations that protect this country. That conduct will be investigated, prosecuted, and punished.”

“Today’s sentencing sends a clear message: those who defraud the U.S. military will be held accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge Josh Packer, U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, Southeast Field Office. “CGIS will continue to work with our investigative partners and the Department of Justice to identify, investigate, and hold those accountable who exploit government systems for personal gain.”

“This outcome reinforces DCIS’s commitment to safeguarding DoD resources and ensuring taxpayer funds are available for their intended purpose: supporting the readiness and effectiveness of the warfighter,” said Special Agent in Charge Jason J. Sargenski of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Southeast Field Office. “This scheme stole millions from the American taxpayer and threatened to undermine a program essential for our global military operations. DCIS, working alongside our law enforcement partners, will relentlessly pursue and hold accountable those who seek to defraud our military and exploit systems designed to support our nation's warfighters.”

“The sentencing of Jasen Butler sends the unequivocal message that the Department of the Navy has zero tolerance for fraud within its procurement systems,” said Special Agent in Charge Greg Gross of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Economic Crimes Field Office. “The SEA Card program is indispensable to the U.S. Navy's global readiness. NCIS, along with our federal partners, are committed to aggressively dismantling any criminal enterprise that attempts to exploit systems designed to enable U.S. warfighting capabilities around the globe.”

The case was prosecuted by the Department of Justice Antitrust Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. The case was investigated by the Coast Guard Investigative Service, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and Naval Criminal Investigative Service, as a part of the Justice Department’s Procurement Collusion Strike Force.

The Defendant was found guilty and was sentenced to 60 months in prison.