Cars, Cosmetic Surgery and Vegas Trips: Former Moreno Valley FBI Agent Admits Stealing Drug Money to Fund Lifestyle, Feds Say

By City News Service:

RIVERSIDE, CA - A former Riverside-based FBI agent who stole tens of thousands of dollars in funds seized during drug busts so that he could buy cars and make other costly purchases pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges.

Scott M. Bowman, 45, of Moreno Valley admitted one count each of illicit conversion of property by a federal employee, obstruction of justice, falsification of records and witness tampering.

Under his plea agreement, the U.S. Attorney's Office will drop 14 remaining charges in exchange for Bowman's admissions. U.S. District Judge Jesus Bernal scheduled a sentencing hearing for Aug. 15 at the federal courthouse in downtown Riverside.

The prosecution's proposed sentence will be submitted to Bernal before the hearing. Bowman is free on an $80,000 bond.

"When the FBI became aware of allegations of misconduct by defendant Bowman, FBI management took immediate action by contacting the Justice Department's Office of Inspector General," said, James Struyk, the assistant director of the agency's Los Angeles Field Office.

"As Mr. Bowman takes responsibility for his actions by pleading guilty, the public should be reminded that FBI personnel are held to the highest standards and misconduct of any kind is taken very seriously."

According to the government, in the fall of 2014, the defendant became the focus of an investigation that culminated in a grand jury indictment alleging he misappropriated more than $100,000 in impounded funds.

The indictment stated that Bowman stole money seized during investigations of cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine dealers in Azusa, Ontario and San Bernardino in June and August 2014.

Court papers allege that the 10-year federal agent took part in the asset seizures while assigned to the federal-state Gang Impact Team, which conducts drug raids throughout Southern California, and was one of the agents responsible for tracking and securing nearly $500,000 taken from traffickers.

Bowman had access to a safe at the FBI's Riverside field office, where the funds were stowed, and procured a large sum of the money for his personal use in late August 2014, prosecutors said.

In an attempt to cover his tracks, Bowman set aside $366,800 and obtained a receipt from an FBI-certified cash counter showing that amount as the total seized, and he signed evidence records attesting to as much, according to the indictment.

"Agent Bowman knew that the true amount of cash seized was substantially greater," the document stated.

Investigators allege that Bowman falsified the signature of a local police detective also responsible for certifying the amount of currency seized in order to make the figure appear legitimate.

When suspicions were aroused, Bowman contacted the lawman, whose name was not disclosed, and attempted to persuade him to join in a "detailed cover story" concerning how the drug proceeds were handled, according to the government, which further alleged Bowman offered the man a $2,000 bribe.

Prosecutors said the defendant used the ill-gotten funds for:

• a $43,850 2012 Dodge Challenger coupe
• a $27,000 2013 Toyota Scion FR-S coupe
• $15,000 in cosmetic surgery for his spouse
• $26,612 in expenditures for upgrades on all the newly purchased vehicles
• $10,665 for Las Vegas vacations

When colleagues made inquiries about his newfound wealth, Bowman told them he had received a $97,000 "advance" from his dying father's estate, according to court papers.

Bowman was fired in March 2015.