On November 18, 2025, Jamian Joshaun Butler, 45, of Jacksonville, Florida was arrested without incident by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Marshals Service. Butler was 1 of 12 subjects indicted in January 2025 when a federal grand jury in Columbia, South Carolina returned a 12-count indictment alleging conspiracy, wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering for defrauding multiple victims in a nationwide scheme.
USAID Office of the Inspector General (OIG) initiated an investigation into allegations that a USAID prime awardee had received fraudulent emails requesting a funds transfer to a new bank from a purported sub recipient grantee based in India, amounting to what is known as a Business Email Compromise (BEC).
The indictment alleges that the defendants accessed the victims’ computer systems to monitor email communications for potential financial transactions and bank transfers. The defendants used this information to identify the victims’ points of contact, financial accounts, communications, and business practices. The defendants then used spoofed emails to impersonate internal personnel, business partners, vendors, or other interested parties. The defendants would then initiate payments or direct financial transfers to bank accounts they controlled. The defendants then shared and intermixed the stolen funds between their own bank accounts, before sending a portion of the money out of the country. The defendants are alleged to have victimized multiple individuals and businesses, including construction companies, private equity firms, title companies, and law firms in South Carolina, New Jersey, Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Japan.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Agency for International Development Office of Inspector General, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S. Secret Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lothrop Morris and T. DeWayne Pearson are prosecuting the case.
The defendants face a maximum penalty of 30 years imprisonment and fines of $1,000,000. All charges in the indictment are merely accusations and that defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
USAID OIG’s investigations remain active and ongoing. For more on USAID OIG’s investigative results, please visit Investigations | Office of Inspector General
OIG reminds personnel and implementers to continue to report allegations of misconduct OIG’s Hotline, consistent with their award requirements or other legal obligations.