‘Fat Leonard’ Sentenced to Prison for Navy Corruption Scandal

A Malaysian contractor known as “Fat Leonard” who bribed dozens of high-ranking U.S. Navy officers in the biggest corruption scandal in the service’s history was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in San Diego to 15 years in prison.

Leonard Glenn Francis, 60, will likely spend about 8.5 more years in federal prison, based on credit he will receive for time already in custody. He could have served even less if he were eligible for parole, although his lawyer warned the judge that a long prison term would be “essentially a death sentence” for Francis, who had serious health problems.

U.S. District Judge Janice Sammartino also said she would order Francis to pay $20 million in restitution to the Navy on top of the $35 million he was previously ordered to pay in restitution. part of his plea agreement. It also ordered Francis’ Singapore-based company Glenn Defense Marine Asia to pay a fine of $36 million.

Francis, who had only ever spoken a few words in open court, somberly addressed the judge and asked for mercy so he could be reunited with his children.

“I sincerely regret my misconduct that led to this day,” Francis said. “I ask the court for mercy, leniency and compassion.”

His tone was noticeably more modest compared to the arrogance and bravado he displayed in podcast he secretly recorded In 2021, Francis called his actions “inexcusable and wrong”, referring to both the massive bribery scheme and his 2022 escape from house arrest just weeks before his previously scheduled sentencing.

He also credited Sammartino for saving his life. put him on sick leave in 2018, saying it was a miracle he was still alive. “I have to thank almighty God and the court for this,” Francis said. Sammatino said she would recommend Francis serve his sentence at the Federal Medical Center in North Carolina.

Francis was arrested in late 2013 and pleaded guilty in 2015 to charges of bribery, conspiracy to commit bribery and conspiracy to defraud the United States. GDMA, which was contracted to supply goods and services to navy vessels for 25 years in Asian ports, pleaded guilty to the same charges. Francis also pleaded guilty Tuesday to a failure to appear charge in connection with his 2022 escape from custody.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred Sheppard told a judge Tuesday that Francis’ corruption scheme reached “the highest levels of the U.S. Navy … to a degree that has never been seen before.” Sheppard said the 36 defendants in federal court were “just the tip of the iceberg.”

Francis spent decades ingratiated himself with a rotating cast of officers in the Navy’s 7th Fleet in the Western Pacific. At least as early as 2004, but likely much earlier, he showered these officers with bribes that included gourmet meals, five-star hotel rooms, premium liquor, prostitutes, designer handbags and cash. The officers, in turn, directed ships to the ports of Southeast Asia, which he controlled. Francis then accused the U.S. government of grossly inflating prices for services such as security, tugboats, food, water resupply, and garbage removal. According to his statement, he defrauded the government of at least $35 million.

Sammartino, who has overseen nearly all related prosecutions over the past 11 years, called Francis’s corruption in the Navy “insidious” and said he helped tarnish the reputations of otherwise respected officers.

“Careers ruined and lives ruined,” the judge said. “The number of lives destroyed includes yours.”

Francis has two weeks to appeal Sammartino’s conviction, more than three years longer than prosecutors recommended and more than six years longer than Francis’ attorney requested. Defense attorney Douglas Sprague told the Union-Tribune he was “very disappointed” with the verdict but needed to consult with Francis before deciding whether to appeal.

U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath and dozens of federal law enforcement agents who have investigated Francis’ case over the years were among those present at the hearing, which was long expected. It has been more than 11 years since agents arrested Francis and 3,582 days since his guilty plea. During this time, Francis played a leading role in the most dramatic turns of the Navy corruption case.

He became key government witnessproviding what prosecutors called “unprecedented” cooperation over 65 meetings. Then in the movement that was kept secret for monthsSammartino released him from custody to undergo treatment for kidney cancer and other ailments. Francis soon took advantage of his sick leave to move with his family to Mansion for $7,000 a month.

Living large in a multi-million dollar home, he secretly recorded a podcast with journalist Tom Wright, who was released months before he was due to testify as a witness in a trial against five Navy officers. He never took a position. Then, weeks before he was finally sentenced in September 2022, he disappearedcut off the GPS monitor on his ankle and disappeared. After his arrest in Venezuela, he spent 14 months in prison before being sentenced to prison. exchanged back to the US last year as part of a prisoner exchange.

Sammartino confirmed Tuesday, despite previous confusion, that Francis will receive deferred credit for his time in a Venezuelan prison because he was arrested and held at the direction of the U.S. government.

However, the judge expressed concern about the lack of answers and responsibility for his escape. “Neither you nor the government have explained how this escape occurred,” she said.

Sammartino told Francis he had a talent for identifying vulnerable people and exploiting their weaknesses, but she also credited Francis and his company for honoring their contracts, even when they overcharged, ensuring the safety of Navy ships and U.S. military personnel.

Sammartino also expressed gratitude to Francis for his cooperation with prosecutors. Sheppard described Francis’ corruption as stunning but his cooperation as “equally stunning,” saying he knows of no other criminal defendant who has ever given so much information to investigators and prosecutors.

Information provided by Francis prompted authorities to investigate about 1,000 Navy personnel and refer more than 600 of them to a Navy body tasked with determining whether administrative or disciplinary action should be taken. Prosecutors won guilty pleas or jury convictions against more than 30 people, most of them Navy officers, who took bribes from Francis, although state prosecutors later admitted to it. serious problems including prosecutions, including judicial misconduct, which resulted in eight defendants having their felony convictions reduced to misdemeanors and one defendant being disqualified his case is completely dismissed.

Even after Tuesday’s verdict, there are still a few questions left about the growing corruption scandal, most notably whether Francis will appeal his conviction and whether he will pay the state what he owes in the form of confiscation and restitution. “I have no knowledge of his ability to pay,” Sheppard told the judge Tuesday.

In a podcast he recorded, Francis appeared to boast about hiding his assets between his arrest and his guilty plea.

Francis’ wealth was the basis of his corruption scheme. He constantly displayed his wealth by living in a 40,000 square foot home in Singapore, with a fleet of luxury cars and a team of staff tending to his needs.

Although his bribery and corruption were an open secret among 7th Fleet sailors, Francis was able to stay one step ahead of investigators for years, at one point bribing a Naval Criminal Investigative Service agent to leak details of criminal investigations to him. .

The astonishing corruption scheme finally came to an end in September 2013, when authorities tricked his NCIS agent into thinking the most serious investigations were closed and then invited Francis to San Diego to meet with Navy officials. After the meeting, armed federal agents burst into Francis’ room on the 21st floor of the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina and arrested him.

Originally published: November 5, 2024 10:32am PST.