A FORMER FBI agent stole more than $100,000 in drug money and spent it on cars, new rims and sound systems, plastic surgery for his wife, and a weekend away in Las Vegas with his girlfriend.
That’s according to the indictment unsealed by the US Department of Justice today.
Agent Scott Bowman, 44, who was part of a special “Gang Impact Team” in California, allegedly falsified FBI reports to cover up his theft of cash confiscated from drug dealers.
When his lavish personal lifestyle caught the attention of colleagues, he allegedly passed it off as the result of an “advance” on an inheritance from his sick father.
And when federal officials began investigating the money, Bowman reportedly asked colleagues to lie for him, and forged their signatures.
Between June and September 2014, the FBI agent is accused of keeping and spending more than $100,000 in cash taken from several drug busts across America.
In one instance, in August, Bowman and his colleagues seized more than $360,000 in cash from a suspected heroin and cocaine trafficking operation in San Bernardino, California.
They packaged the money in evidence bags, and deposited them at an FBI facility nearby.
According to the indictment, Bowman came back on his own the next day, took “a substantial amount” of cash for himself, and repackaged the remaining money in new evidence bags.
Then, over the following 24 hours, he allegedly went on something of a shopping spree, buying:
Ten days later, he spent $43,850 on a 2012 Dodge Challenger, and over the next couple of weeks, bought:
After indulging his apparent love for flash cars, Bowman also treated the women his life to some of the drug proceeds, according to the Justice Department.
In early September 2014, he spent $15,000 on cosmetic surgery for his wife, but around a week later, took his girlfriend on a weekend away in Las Vegas.
Using funds from a newly-opened bank account, he splashed out on a suite at a luxury hotel for the two of them, visited the casinos, and paid more than $1,000 for tickets to a boxing match.
Despite Bowman’s allegedly falsifying FBI reports, supervisors began inquiring about the missing money.
With the net closing in, Bowman desperately tried to get a colleague to lie for him, forging his signature and emailing him an elaborate explanation he could present to internal investigators:
We had sealed money from the [San Bernardino] search warrant…I had sealed money from some other seizures…I brought it in, you stayed outside…
We left, I told you I mighta fucked up cause they put all the money together. That’s all. In case you’re asked.
With the criminal investigation pending, Bowman was fired from the FBI in March, after 10 years as an agent.
In a statement this evening, Assistant US Attorney General outlined the damage done by the actions of which Bowman is accused:
As alleged, former Agent Bowman put his own greed above the trust placed in him by the FBI and the American public.
Corrupt law enforcement agents not only compromise those investigations in which they are involved, but also damage the reputations of fellow law enforcement officers who are dedicated to public service and the protection of all Americans.
Bowman has been charged with several counts of conversion of property by a federal employee, obstruction of justice, money laundering, falsification of records and witness tampering.
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