A federal jury in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Tuesday convicted a Florida fuel supplier of 34 felony counts for his role in a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme targeting the U.S. military.
The jury found Jasen Butler, of Jupiter, Fla., guilty of wire fraud, money laundering, forgery, and related offenses for orchestrating a scheme that defrauded the U.S. Department of Defense and other federal agencies out of more than $4.5 million. Following the verdict, U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks ordered Butler remanded into custody at the request of the United States.
According to the indictment and evidence presented at trial, Butler, the owner of Independent Marine Oil Services LLC, submitted altered and fabricated invoices and payment documents through the SEA Card Program, which allows U.S. Navy and Coast Guard vessels to purchase fuel worldwide. Prosecutors said Butler provided falsified wire transfer memos and invoices to multiple U.S. warships, including the USS Patriot, between August 2022 and January 2024.
The evidence showed the vessels were attempting to obtain fuel in international ports, including Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Croatia, and that Butler received more than $4.5 million in payments for expenses he had not incurred. After coming under scrutiny from Navy officials, Butler concealed his identity by using a false name and claiming to work for a fictitious fuel division of another company, prosecutors said. Authorities also alleged he used the proceeds to enrich himself and purchase multiple high-value properties in Florida and Colorado.
“This defendant brazenly defrauded the U.S. Military out of millions of dollars and put critical fuel resources at risk, all to fund his cushy and fictitious lifestyle,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “The Department of Justice will continue to uncover these schemes and bring perpetrators to justice to protect the American people and their tax dollars.”
“The defendant — a convicted felon — defrauded his own country in order to unjustly line his own pockets,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Omeed A. Assefi of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “He deprived the United States Armed Forces of the resources they need to help keep our country safe. Despite his fake identity, fake job, and fake invoices, a jury of his peers saw through it and found him guilty of 34 felonies. We salute our wonderful trial team and applaud Judge Middlebrooks’s decision to imprison the defendant for his crimes pending sentencing.”
U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida said the verdict underscored the seriousness of crimes targeting military supply chains. “By falsifying invoices and siphoning millions from a program designed to keep U.S. military vessels operational around the world, he put critical missions and taxpayer dollars at risk,” he said.
Officials from the Coast Guard Investigative Service, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service also praised the verdict, saying it sent a strong message that fraud against the military and taxpayers would not be tolerated.
Sentencing is scheduled for April 8, 2026. Butler faces maximum penalties of up to 20 years in prison on each wire fraud count and up to 10 years on each forgery and money laundering count. A federal judge will determine the final sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The case was investigated by the Coast Guard Investigative Service, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and Naval Criminal Investigative Service as part of the Department of Justice’s Procurement Collusion Strike Force. Trial attorneys from the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida prosecuted the case.
