'Fat Leonard' who bribed Navy officers fleeing the country will be sentenced to prison

SAN DIEGO (CNS) – Foreign defense contractor Leonard Glenn “Fat Leonard” Francis will be sentenced Tuesday in San Diego, nearly a decade after he pleaded guilty to bribing Navy officials to benefit his ship operating company.

Francis’ sentencing follows the controversial trial of five Navy officers, the guilty pleas of dozens of other defendants and Francis’ escape from the country while under house arrest.

Prosecutors are seeking a prison sentence of 11 years and eight months for Francis, who admitted giving free meals, hotel rooms, prostitutes and other gifts to Navy officials and in return helping direct Navy ships to ports controlled by Francis. Francis’ company, Glenn Defense Marine Asia, charged the Navy more than $35 million for the company’s services, prosecutors said.

The sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Janis Sammartino, who presided over the entire case, will cover his escape from San Diego as well as his role in the bribery scheme. Francis is expected to plead guilty to a federal charge of failure to appear in court on Tuesday.

Prosecutors called the bribery scheme “aggravated and egregious” in sentencing memorandums but said Francis was credited with recommending sentencing because of information he provided to authorities. According to prosecutors, Francis met with investigators more than 50 times over several years, providing them with “detailed information on hundreds of individuals, from petty officers to admirals, including captains, commanders, Vice Admirals and Rear Admirals.” “The degree and importance of collaboration cannot be overstated,” he wrote.

Francis’ cooperation was part of the defense of five Navy officers who face trial in 2022. His lawyers argued that Francis set up a web of lies incriminating multiple Navy officials to secure a reduced sentence and other benefits from the government. Despite the information he disclosed, Francis was never called to testify at the hearing.

Following his guilty plea, Francis initially spent some time in custody, but was later placed under house arrest on medical leave in San Diego due to various health issues.

As his sentencing in the bribery case approached in the fall of 2022, Francis cut off the GPS monitor he was supposed to wear and disappeared from San Diego, authorities say. He was later arrested in Venezuela and brought back to the United States last December following a prisoner exchange between the two countries.

His lawyers, who are seeking a sentence of eight years and nine months in prison, said in sentencing documents that Francis fled in part because of controversy over the investigation into Navy officials accused of taking bribes.

They wrote that Francis feared “the attorney general would no longer be or could not be a credible advocate” to argue that cooperation warranted a reduced sentence.

That prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Pletcher, found “clear misconduct” by Sammartino during the trial of five Navy officers. Four of those officers were convicted, but those convictions were later overturned and the officers were allowed to plead guilty to misdemeanors after prosecutors alleged misconduct that included accusations that the officers withheld information from defense attorneys.

Other criminal charges entered into felonies by other Navy officers were later allowed to be reduced to misdemeanors, while charges against another officer who pleaded guilty were dismissed outright.

According to his lawyers, Francis was also apprehensive about remaining in the United States due to his mother’s deteriorating health and “concluded that his chances of ever seeing his mother alive again were rapidly evaporating.” Lawyers say Francis also has serious health problems.

They claim that Francis “panicked” and “in a terrible lapse of judgment, left the United States, hoping to find a way to get to a place where he could spend time with his mother before they both died.” Francis’ mother died while he was in custody in Malaysia earlier this year.

“Leonard understands that this decision is inexcusable and wrong,” the sentencing memorandum states. “He sincerely regrets his decision and describes it as one of the worst decisions he has ever made.”

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