Man charged with theft, money laundering used social media to spread alleged false information about his military connections.

3 hours ago
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Clayton Iley is being held at the Erath County Jail.

A Stephenville man accused of stealing millions of dollars in a Ponzi scheme used social media to spread alleged false information about his military career and connection to the U.S. Armed Forces.

Clayton Iley’s Facebook and Instagram pages are filled with posts claiming that he worked in the shadows of the military as a defense contractor and claimed to have served in the U.S. Army.

Iley, 40, was taken into custody by the Texas Rangers on Friday.

(Read original report here.)

According to the arrest warrant, Iley has never served in the military, but his “work” list on his Facebook page says otherwise.

He claims to be the CEO of Spartan Global Security – USA Division; CEO and commander of Black Eagle PMC Military Defense; owner of Black Ops Motorsports, Aero & Marine LLC, CEO of Black Ops Inc. and Black Ops International Inc; and a private military defense contractor.

It also shows that he is the owner/CEO of the Texas Legacy Insurance Group and Texas Veterans Insurance Group.

Those agencies have reportedly been ordered to close immediately.

“It’s like he created an alter-ego for himself,” one local law enforcement official told Beneath the Surface News.

“It’s insane. He would claim to be out of the country fighting some battle, then we would see him picking up his kids from school that same day.”

According to the arrest warrant, Texas Ranger BJ Hill began the investigation in Oct. 2025 with an inquiry into Project 22.

“Iley owns a very large fleet of exotic cars and military vehicles that are very uncommon and expensive,” the warrant states.

“These vehicles include large semi-sized military trucks, multiple Hummers and other heavily armed personnel carriers.

“The exotic cars include a Rezvani Tank, Maseratis, Lamborghinis, Mercedes, Corvettes, Camaros, Porches, Apocalypse Hellfire, Ferrari and McLarens to name a few.”

Most of the vehicles operated with license plates that read, “SPARTAN” and “BLK EAGLE.”

A person familiar with the case told Beneath the Surface News those license plates were purchased on Etsy.

INTERESTING CLAIMS ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM

Iley was very active on social media, appearing to carefully curate his image as a family man and military veteran who operates in the shadows of military special missions.

Five days before his arrest in Stephenville, Iley claimed to be “half way around the world” in an April 19 Facebook post.

On April 12, he posted two photos of what he claimed depicted night training.

The post states, “Our poor Pizza delivery man; tonight was either the scariest night or coolest night of his delivery career life with a bunch of Camo Bods w/NODs running around & Helicopters buzzing him as soon as he made the ranch compound gate walls...

“But Hey, Meat Eaters got to eat during FTX/Pre-Deployment trainings, we eat A LOT, burn a ton of fuel ourselves & hope you at least enjoyed that 25% tip my man to help make the trip worth it! Plus got a cool or scary story to tell now too?!!!

“Amen, Thank You Jesus!!!”

Beneath the Surface News did a reverse image search on both photos which showed they were taken from Combat Fitness’ Instagram page and other military sources.

In the weeks leading up to his arrest, Iley’s posts became longer and more frequent.

On April 10, he wrote:

“Every Day is Heavy Day in the Gym Baby!!!

“Powerlifting vs bodybuilding for me means that I still look good, feel great; but that I can back it up when I go to breach a door or rip one off the hinges if needed.

“The stronger you get physically, mentally & spiritually; the easier it is to carry every aspect of weight in your life including others on your shoulders if necessary... Not just the Easter Bunny either! Bahahahah God Bless & have a great Friday everyone!

On April 2, he wrote:

“We ALL forget things sometimes? It's alright, it happens to the Best of us including me; so don't be so hard on yourselves!

“Sometimes I forget what all these other buttons do in the BlackHawks or the MH6 Little Birds. But I just stopped saying that over the comms since it freaks people out... kind of like when I also ask them if anyone remembers whether I fueled up or not or whether I fixed the gauges?... which also doesn't usually go over really well!! Lol

“I don't have alzheimer's but some times I have sometimerz. So the moral to the story is that it's okay, just keep that confidence going... & maybe also... Just don't tell anyone or for God's sake, don't say it over the comms!

“Carry-on my friends, Carry-on & have a blessed day!”

On March 31, he wrote:

“99.999% will never know or understand how much violence it took for me to become this gentle & loving... but extremes generate their own extremes & sometimes a lot of Irony as well.

“Some of the most peaceful people you'll ever meet are the War fighters themselves, just don't mistake them for harmless... we're just very effective at keeping the monster chained until the circumstances call for its release!

“God had enough Wisdom to even give his strongest Angels weapons & gifts to fight Evil when they were called upon... the same is true for his chosen here on Earth blessed with weapons, gifts & talents “from God Almighty himself for when they are also temporarily called upon to retire their "Angel" halos witnessed by most... to become something that resembles anything but an Angel.”

On March 7, he wrote:

“Leaving is always hard, but returning is a Blessing! Holding onto memories & even getting a good laugh prior to deployment is always good for the soul.

“Maybree gave me a sweet picture plus a letter while Lincoln gave me a protein cookie, a pat on the back & just said "Go get em Daddy"! Lol

“Felt like I had a smile on my face the whole time I was gone just thinking about that!”

On Feb. 23, he wrote:

“Do any of my FB friends have Family currently stuck in Puerto Vallarta or within a 45 mile range? If so, please have them contact their closest US Embassy via the link below with their full legal name listed on their passport, their phone #, # of family members present & current physical location as soon as possible!

“We have assets & teams working with the State Department to locate & escort US Citizens to safety in that area before larger operations unfold. Our British partners are also now in Country & will be running parallel with our teams to secure their citizens as well.”

On Dec. 17, 2025, he wrote:

“Black Eagle PMC/Spartan Global Security are now hiring Spanish speaking Veterans with prior combat experience! Please email your resume to blackeagle@spartanglobalsecurity.com Former Special Operations Vets are preferred & spots are limited. All pre-deployment training, gear, weapons, etc... will be provided. Must be ready & able to deploy after training is completed shortly after New Years.”

On Dec. 7, 2025 he wrote:

“I swear 99% of the time my guys are praying for everything to go smoothly... BUT sometimes I catch a smirk, smile, see it in their eyes, feel it on them or can tell by the phone conversation; that they are just itching for someone to mess up so they can pull the trigger or have an excuse to use the toys at their disposal to light someone up!... But then again, guess they get that from me! Lol”

He also made several posts claiming that he has been emotionally damaged by war.

A post on Dec. 4, 2025 reads: “If you knew my past, you’d understand my eyes.”

And in a Nov. 14 , 2025 post about military robot dogs, Iley wrote:

“God Bless America!!! The land I LOVE & here's just one more reason why... about to add these to my property defense strategy & motor pool security team. Because just like Jesus said, the best way to cleanse a thief, terrorists or Evil person is by setting them on fire! Amen!!! Lol”

A Nov. 3, 2025 post shows a military man in a helicopter hovering over some sort of mission:

He wrote: “Someday's I can't believe we get paid to do stuff like this & it's so humbling to look down to see your units standing guard on the front lines throughout the world! Blessed are the peacemakers & there are no greater peacemaker tools than Strength, Violent Gentlemen, Heavy Armor, Overwhelming Firepower & the drive for Victory at all Costs!”