Jasen Butler, 38, of Jupiter, Florida, was sentenced to 60 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks in West Palm Beach after a jury convicted him in January of 34 counts of wire fraud, forgery, and money laundering. Butler, who owned Independent Marine Oil Services LLC, corrupted competitive bidding processes for military fuel contracts and submitted dozens of falsified documents including wire transfer memos and invoices to multiple U.S. warships operating in international ports.
According to trial evidence, Butler targeted Navy vessels attempting to purchase fuel in strategic ports across Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Croatia between August 2022 and January 2024, submitting fraudulent documentation for expenses he never incurred while the ships were defending American interests globally. "The defendant stole millions of dollars from our military with a fake job, fake identity, and fake invoices," said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. When Navy officials began scrutinizing his activities, Butler escalated his scheme by adopting a false identity and pretending to work for a fictitious fuel division of a different company.
Butler used the $4.5 million in fraudulent proceeds to purchase multiple multi-million-dollar properties in Florida and Colorado, which Judge Middlebrooks has ordered forfeited through a preliminary forfeiture order. The sentence reflects the court's view of the calculated nature of Butler's scheme, which specifically targeted military operations essential to national security.
The prosecution was handled jointly by the Justice Department's Antitrust Division and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida as part of the Procurement Collusion Strike Force, a specialized unit targeting fraud and anticompetitive conduct in government contracting. The case represents the Strike Force's ongoing effort to protect federal procurement processes from criminal exploitation, particularly those affecting military readiness and operations.
"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," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Omeed A. Assefi of the Antitrust Division. U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones emphasized that "when you defraud our armed forces, you are not just committing fraud, you are undermining operations that protect this country."
The investigation involved coordination between the Coast Guard Investigative Service, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Special Agent in Charge Jason J. Sargenski of DCIS noted that the scheme "threatened to undermine a program essential for our global military operations," while NCIS emphasized that the targeted SEA Card program is "indispensable to the U.S. Navy's global readiness."
The case underscores the Justice Department's prioritization of protecting military procurement systems, with the Procurement Collusion Strike Force offering whistleblower rewards of 15-30% of recoveries exceeding $1 million for information leading to successful prosecutions. Butler's prosecution demonstrates the severe penalties facing contractors who exploit systems designed to support warfighter capabilities and national security operations.