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US court sentences 'Fat Leonard' to 15 years in jail – report
Former military contractor Leonard Francis was sentenced to 15 years in prison for masterminding a decade-long bribery scheme that swept up dozens of US Navy officers, AP reported earlier.
US district judge Janis L Sammartino sentenced him to more than 13 and a half years for the bribery and fraud charges, plus 16 months for failing to appear. The sentences are to be served consecutively.
He ordered Francis, also known as “Fat Leonard”, to pay US$20 million (RM87.5 million) in restitution...
Former military contractor Leonard Francis was sentenced to 15 years in prison for masterminding a decade-long bribery scheme that swept up dozens of US Navy officers, AP reported earlier.
US district judge Janis L Sammartino sentenced him to more than 13 and a half years for the bribery and fraud charges, plus 16 months for failing to appear. The sentences are to be served consecutively.
He ordered Francis, also known as “Fat Leonard”, to pay US$20 million (RM87.5 million) in restitution to the US Navy and a US$150,000 fine, according to a statement from the US Attorney’s Office.
The Malaysian national was also ordered to forfeit US$35 million in “ill-gotten proceeds from his crimes,” the statement said.
Prosecutors said the sentence resulted from Francis’ first guilty plea in 2015 concerning bribery and fraud, his extensive cooperation with the government since then and another guilty plea on Tuesday for failing to appear for his original sentencing hearing in 2022.
Justice served
Francis, 60, was supposed to be sentenced in September 2022 but he fled to Venezuela after cutting off a GPS ankle monitor he was wearing while under house arrest.
He was later arrested in Venezuela and brought back to the US in December 2023 under a prisoner swap deal.
“Leonard Francis lined his pockets with taxpayer dollars while undermining the integrity of US naval forces,” US Attorney Tara McGrath said in a statement yesterday.
“The impact of his deceit and manipulation will be long felt, but justice has been served today.”
Francis once owned and operated his family’s ship servicing business, Singapore-based Glenn Defense Marine Asia Ltd or GDMA, which supplied food, water and fuel to vessels.
A key contractor for US Navy ships for over two decades, Francis curried favours from naval officers with Kobe beef, expensive cigars, concert tickets and wild sex parties at luxury hotels from Thailand to the Philippines.
In exchange, the officers concealed the scheme in which Francis would overcharge for supplying ships or charge for fake services at ports he controlled in Southeast Asia.
The officers also passed him classified information and even went so far as redirecting military vessels to ports that were lucrative for his Singapore-based ship servicing company.
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