Former navy protection contractor Leonard “Fat Leonard” Francis was sentenced Tuesday to fifteen years in jail for masterminding a decade-long bribery scheme that swept up dozens of U.S. Navy officers, federal prosecutors stated.
U.S. District Choose Janis L. Sammartino additionally ordered Francis to pay $20 million in restitution to the Navy and a $150,000 wonderful, in accordance with an announcement from the U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace. He was additionally ordered to forfeit $35 million in “ill-gotten proceeds from his crimes,” the assertion stated.
Prosecutors stated the sentence resulted from Francis’ first responsible plea in 2015 regarding bribery and fraud, his in depth cooperation with the federal government since then and one other responsible plea Tuesday for failing to look for his authentic sentencing listening to in 2022.
Shortly earlier than he was because of be sentenced in September 2022, Francis lower off a GPS monitor he was sporting whereas below home arrest and fled the nation. He was later arrested in Venezuela and introduced again to the U.S. in December 2023.
Sammartino sentenced him to greater than 13 1/2 years for the bribery and fraud costs, plus 16 months for failing to look. The sentences are to be served consecutively.
“Leonard Francis lined his pockets with taxpayer dollars while undermining the integrity of U.S. Naval forces,” U.S. Legal professional Tara McGrath stated in Tuesday’s assertion. ”The affect of his deceit and manipulation will likely be lengthy felt, however justice has been served in the present day.”
E-mail and telephone messages looking for remark had been left Tuesday for William Douglas Sprague, an lawyer for Francis.
Sprague, who sought a sentence of slightly below 9 years, argued that his shopper’s cooperation ought to warrant a lesser sentence, 10 Information San Diego reported.
Sprague additionally stated Francis’ firm offered the Navy with exemplary companies for a few years.
“Unfortunately, as Leonard acknowledged in his early guilty plea and immediate cooperation, his greed drove him to commit bribery and to commit fraud,” Sprague stated.
Prosecutors stated Francis’ actions led to one of many largest bribery investigations in U.S. navy historical past, which resulted within the conviction and sentencing of practically two dozen Navy officers, protection contractors and others on varied fraud and corruption costs.
An enigmatic determine who was 6-foot-3 and weighed 350 kilos at one time, Francis owned and operated his household’s ship servicing enterprise, Singapore-based Glenn Protection Marine Asia Ltd. or GDMA, which provided meals, water and gasoline to vessels. The Malaysian protection contractor was a key contact for U.S. Navy ships at ports throughout Asia for greater than 20 years. Throughout that point, Francis wooed naval officers with Kobe beef, costly cigars, live performance tickets and wild intercourse events at luxurious resorts from Thailand to the Philippines.
In alternate, officers, together with the primary active-duty admiral to be convicted of a federal crime, hid the scheme wherein Francis would overcharge for supplying ships or cost for pretend companies at ports he managed in Southeast Asia. The officers handed him categorized info and even went as far as redirecting navy vessels to ports that had been profitable for his Singapore-based ship servicing firm.
In a federal sting, Francis was lured to San Diego on false pretenses and arrested at a lodge in September 2013. He pleaded responsible in 2015, admitting that he had provided greater than $500,000 in money bribes to Navy officers, protection contractors and others. Prosecutors say he bilked the Navy out of a minimum of $35 million. As a part of his plea deal, he cooperated with the investigation resulting in the Navy convictions. He confronted as much as 25 years in jail.
Whereas awaiting sentencing, Francis was hospitalized and handled for renal most cancers and different medical points. After leaving the hospital, he was allowed to remain out of jail at a rental residence, on home arrest with a GPS ankle monitor and safety guards.
However three weeks earlier than his scheduled sentencing in September 2022, he snipped off his monitor and made a brazen escape, setting off a global search. Officers stated he fled to Mexico, made his option to Cuba and ultimately bought to Venezuela.
He was arrested greater than two weeks after his disappearance — caught earlier than he boarded a flight on the Simon Bolivar Worldwide Airport outdoors Caracas. Venezuelan officers stated he meant to achieve Russia.
The instances had been dealt with by the U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace in an effort to be unbiased of the navy justice system. However they’ve got here below scrutiny.
The felony convictions of 4 former Navy officers had been vacated following allegations of prosecutorial misconduct. Sammartino agreed to permit them to plead responsible to a misdemeanor and pay a $100 wonderful every.
Final yr, Sammartino dominated that the lead federal prosecutor within the officers’ case dedicated “flagrant misconduct” by withholding info from protection attorneys, however that it was not sufficient to dismiss the case.
Comply with the outcomes, perceive the impacts. Learn all of our U.S. election protection right here.
