“Fat Leonard” sentenced to 15 years for massive Navy bribery, fraud scheme

Leonard Glenn Francis, a former defense contractor convicted for masterminding an unprecedented bribery and fraud scheme targeting the U.S. Navy, was sentenced Tuesday in federal court to 15 years in prison. He was ordered to pay $20 million in restitution and a $150,000 fine, the Department of Justice announced.

Francis, known as “Fat Leonard,” pled guilty in 2015 to the bribery and fraud charges, but fled the U.S. in 2022 leaving his GPS ankle monitoring bracelet in a water cooler just days before he was to be sentenced. The U.S. Marshals Service told CBS News Francis was detained on an Interpol red notice at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Venezuela while boarding a flight to Cuba.

He was returned to the U.S. last year as part of a large prisoner swap deal with Venezuela. Ten American detainees were released in the 2023 deal in exchange for the Biden administration freeing Alex Saab, a Colombian-born businessman and close ally of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro who was facing money laundering charges.

Read more: CBS News