Fat Leonard Gets 15 Years for Fraud, Bribing Navy Officials

Leonard Glenn Francis, aka “Fat Leonard,” 60, a citizen of Malaysia living in Singapore, was sentenced to 180 months in prison for crimes committed in a bribery and fraud scheme that targeted the U.S. Navy and defrauded the U.S. government, according to a DOJ press release. The sentence came after Francis escaped house arrest in 2022 and attempted to flee the United States to avoid his first sentencing trial.

Owned Defense Contracting Company

Francis was the owner and chief executive of Glenn Defense Marine Asia. This defense contracting company provided services to the ships of the U.S. Navy docking in Asia Pacific ports, according to the DOJ press release. Francis was arrested on Sept. 16, 2013, in San Diego, and he, along with his business, Glenn Defense, pleaded guilty to conspiracy, bribery and wire fraud on Jan. 15, 2015.

While Francis provided husbanding and other logistical services to U.S. Navy ships, he also gave favors to ranking officers, according to the 2015 DOJ press release announcing his plea. These favors included cash, lavish airplane rides, luxury hotel stays, expensive spa treatments and top-shelf alcohol, as well as luxury items and food, like Kobe beef, Spanish suckling pigs, Cuban cigars and collector fountain pens. Francis also provided prostitutes and other services to high-ranking Navy officials.

In return, U.S. Navy command staff and personnel helped Francis and Glenn Defense through the procurement process, according to the most recent DOJ press release. They also gave Francis classified information about Navy ship schedules, competitor bids for Naval contracts and information detailing the investigations that the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and U.S. Navy were conducting into his activities.

Also Overcharged the Navy Tens of Millions of Dollars

Francis also admitted to overcharging the U.S. Navy by tens of millions of dollars for fuel, sewage disposal and the cost of tugboats, according to the 2015 DOJ press release. As a part of Francis’ initial plea agreement, he cooperated with prosecutors, identifying many Navy officials who accepted his bribes.

Military Officers Charged, Indicted, Some Serve Time

Over the next 10 years, Navy officers were indicted on bribery charges, including U.S. Navy Captain Daniel Dusek, who was sentenced to 46 months in prison for giving Francis classified information; U.S. Navy Captain Jesus Vasquez Cantu, who was sentenced to 30 months in prison for providing proprietary U.S. Navy information to Francis; former U.S. Navy Captain Donald Hornbeck, who pled guilty on Feb. 2, 2022, to sending Navy ships to Glenn Defense-controlled ports in exchange for $67,830 in bribes; and many others, like U.S. Navy Commander Stephen Shedd, U.S. Marine Corps Colonel Enrico DeGuzman and retired Chief Warrant Officer Robert Gorsuch.

In May, a federal judge threw out the felony convictions of Hornbeck, Gorsuch, Jose Luis Sanchez and DeGuzman due to prosecutorial error, but the four subsequently pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges. Stephen Shedd’s case was thrown out, according to AP reporting.

Cut Off His Ankle Monitor, Escaped, Extradicted Back to U.S.

Francis was held in pretrial custody until Dec. 17, 2017, until he was granted house arrest to get treatment for kidney cancer 40 miles from the Mexican border, according to an Oversight Committee report. On Sept. 4, 2022, Francis cut off his ankle monitor and fled the U.S. but was ultimately recaptured in Venezuela a few weeks later.

Although the United States and Venezuela do not have an extradition treaty, Venezuela agreed to a prisoner swap. Francis was returned to the U.S. on Dec. 20, 2023, according to the Jan. 4 DOJ press release about his return.

Sentencing

Francis pleaded guilty to failing to appear in court, and his sentence was set at 15 years, according to his sentencing documents. With time served, Francis has eight and a half more years in prison to serve. Francis was also ordered to pay a $150,000 fine and $20 million to the U.S. Navy, as well as forfeit $35 million in proceeds from the fraud, according to the most recent DOJ press release.