A Defense Contractor Faces Additional Charges in U.S. Military Bribery Scandal
A defense contractor at the center of one of the biggest bribery scandals in U.S. military history is expected to face additional charges following his return to the United States from Venezuela as part of a broader prisoner swap between the two countries, a federal prosecutor said Thursday.
Leonard Glenn Francis, who is nicknamed "Fat Leonard," faced a federal judge for the first time since snipping off his ankle monitor last year and disappearing weeks before a sentencing hearing on charges that he offered more than $500,000 in cash bribes to Navy officials, defense contractors and others.
He was later arrested in Venezuela and had been in custody there since, but was returned to the U.S. in a large swap Wednesday that also saw the release of 10 American detainees by Venezuela in exchange for the Biden administration freeing Alex Saab, a Colombian-born businessman and close ally of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro who'd been charged in the U.S. in a money laundering case.
Francis, shackled and in a beige jumpsuit, stood by quietly as a federal magistrate judge in Miami ordered him to be transferred to Southern California, the region where his case was initially filed.
Additional Charges Filed Against Francis in Bribery Case
Prosecutors announced today that additional charges would be brought against Francis in his ongoing bribery case in San Diego.
When asked by Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Becerra if he could afford an attorney, Francis responded, "Not right now," in a soft-spoken but otherwise expressionless manner.
Francis was apprehended at a San Diego hotel nearly ten years ago as part of a federal sting operation. It is alleged that he defrauded the U.S. military of over $35 million by bribing numerous high-ranking Navy officers with extravagant gifts such as alcohol, sex, lavish parties, and more.
The scandal resulted in the conviction and sentencing of nearly twenty Navy officials, defense contractors, and others on various charges of fraud and corruption. Investigators claim that Francis, who was in charge of his family's ship-servicing business, took advantage of his position as a key contact for U.S. Navy shops in ports across Asia. He enticed naval officers with items like Kobe beef, expensive cigars, concert tickets, and wild sex parties at luxury hotels spanning from Thailand to the Philippines.
Francis pleaded guilty in 2015 and was granted permission to remain out of prison, instead residing in a rental home under house arrest with a GPS ankle monitor and security guards.
Just weeks before his scheduled sentencing in September 2022, Francis executed a bold escape by removing his ankle monitor and vanishing. Authorities revealed that he fled to Mexico, then made his way to Cuba before finally reaching Venezuela.
However, a few weeks later, he was apprehended at the Simon Bolivar International Airport in Caracas while attempting to board a flight bound for Russia.
Since then, Francis has been held in custody in Venezuela, where he sought asylum.
Recently unsealed court documents indicate that federal prosecutors were preparing for Saab's release from U.S. custody. They informed a judge that they expected President Joe Biden to grant clemency for Saab and requested an order for the U.S. Marshals Service to transfer Saab out of federal prison, citing "significant foreign policy interests of the United States."
