WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A federal jury has found a Florida fuel supplier guilty of 34 felony charges for orchestrating a multimillion-dollar scheme aimed at defrauding the U.S. military and various federal agencies, as announced by prosecutors.
Jason Butler, 37, from Jupiter, Florida, was convicted of wire fraud, money laundering, and forgery for submitting fraudulent fuel invoices to U.S. Navy and Coast Guard vessels via the SEA Card Program, which permits military ships to acquire fuel while operating abroad. Following the verdict, U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks ordered Butler to be taken into custody at the request of the government.
Evidence presented during the trial indicated that Butler, the proprietor of Independent Marine Oil Services LLC, utilized altered invoices and counterfeit wire transfer records to bill U.S. warships for fuel that was never actually purchased. Between August 2022 and January 2024, prosecutors reported that Butler targeted several vessels, including the USS Patriot, as they refueled in international ports such as Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Croatia.
Authorities stated that Butler received over $4.5 million in payments for expenses he did not incur, misappropriating taxpayer funds intended to support global military operations.
When Navy officials began to scrutinize the transactions, Butler allegedly attempted to conceal his involvement by adopting a false identity and asserting that he worked for a nonexistent fuel division at another company. Prosecutors claimed he used the proceeds from the fraud to enrich himself and acquire multimillion-dollar 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,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. “The Department of Justice will continue to uncover these schemes and bring perpetrators to justice.”
U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida said Butler’s conduct threatened the military supply chain. “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.
Sentencing is scheduled for April 8, 2026. Butler faces up to 20 years in prison on each wire fraud count and up to 10 years on each money laundering and forgery count. A federal judge will determine the final sentence after reviewing federal sentencing guidelines and statutory factors.
