Headline: "‘Fat Leonard’ Sentenced to 15 Years for US Navy Corruption Scandal"
SAN DIEGO, CA – Leonard Francis, the Malaysian military contractor infamously known as “Fat Leonard,” was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison on Tuesday for orchestrating the largest corruption scandal in U.S. Navy history. The ruling was handed down by a federal judge in San Diego, alongside an order for Francis to pay $20 million in restitution to the Navy and forfeit $35 million representing his ill-gotten gains.
At 60 years old, Francis operated Glenn Defense Marine Asia, a military contracting firm based in Singapore. His legal troubles began in 2013, culminating in a guilty plea in 2015, where he admitted to bribing Navy officers to divert contracts to his shipyards across Asia-Pacific ports. The bribes exceeded $500,000 in cash and included lavish gifts such as luxury travel, accommodations, meals, designer handbags, and watches, ultimately costing the Navy around $35 million through inflated contracts.
The sentencing had initially been scheduled for September 2022, but Francis made headlines when he cut off his GPS ankle bracelet and fled to Venezuela while under house arrest. He was subsequently returned to the U.S. in December 2023 as part of a prisoner swap between the two nations.
Francis’s case has had significant repercussions; as part of a plea agreement, he provided crucial information that led to the convictions of several high-ranking U.S. Navy officers implicated in the scandal. The consequences of his actions have reverberated throughout the Navy, highlighting the need for greater oversight and accountability in military contracting practices.
