Navy Files First Criminal Charges In “Fat Leonard” Scandal

An active-duty commander has been formally charged by the Navy with heading up a massive fraud scheme. The Navy has been investigating corruption related to Leonard Glenn Francis, a Malaysian defense contractor, for four years. In charging papers this week, it continued to not publicly identify the commander who allegedly bribed other Navy officials to join the scheme. That commander allegedly accepted prostitutes, travel and other gifts worth about $5,000 from Francis from 2012 to 2013. If the case proceeds to trial, it would be the first time the Navy has court-martialed anyone in the scandal. In 2013 Francis was arrested in San Diego and pleaded guilty to bribing scores of Navy officials over many decades, overcharging the Navy for at least $35 million to resupply its ships in Asia. Twenty-one current and former Navy officials have been charged, and the Justice Department has referred 200 cases involving Navy personnel to the Pentagon for possible discipline or prosecution under military law.