Leonard Francis, better known as “Fat Leonard,” was under home confinement after he allegedly removed his GPS ankle monitor and fled his residence on September 4, 2022. American Marshals Service via AP
Investigators have few leads in the disappearance of military contractor Leonard Francis, sometimes known as “Fat Leonard,” who took off his home GPS ankle monitoring band and left days before his sentencing for corruption.
On Sunday, U.S. Marshals received a call informing them that Francis’ tracking bracelet was malfunctioning. The Marshals Service reported that when they arrived at his residence, it had been completely emptied with the exception of a cooler containing Francis’ bracelet, which was submerged in water.
The Marshals speculate that Francis is attempting to flee the nation, as the Mexican border is only a forty-minute drive from his residence. They anticipate that he will attempt to return to Malaysia or even South Asia from Mexico.
In a plea agreement from 2015, Francis named seven Navy officials who had accepted bribes and admitted paying them off with hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and luxury gifts worth millions of dollars. He lavished them with prostitutes, Cuban cigars, opulent trips, Spanish suckling pigs, and Kobe meat. According to court filings, officials received spa services, premium booze, designer handbags, leather items, designer furnishings, watches, fountain pens, decorative swords, and handcrafted ship models.
In exchange for confidential information, commanders routed military boats to lucrative ports for his Singapore-based ship servicing business. According to authorities, Francis overpaid the U.S. military for his company’s services by $35 million.
More than thirty Navy personnel and contractors have been convicted of or pleaded guilty to charges linked to Francis’ services.
Despite his health issues, he is still a large man, so he should be simple to recognize, claimed the Marshals. During his time in U.S. custody, he was confined to a wheelchair.
Since at least 2018, Francis has been under house arrest and the supervision of Pre-Trial Services, a federal organization that monitors out-of-custody convicts pending sentencing. At the end of the month, he was scheduled to be sentenced and faced up to 25 years in prison.
Pre-Trial Services did not provide a remark. To locate and apprehend Francis, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) is collaborating with the U.S. Marshals Service, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and U.S. attorney’s office