(NewsNation) — Ten Americans formerly imprisoned in Venezuela were freed Thursday in exchange for the release of a close ally of President Nicolás Maduro and the return of a fugitive defense contractor — "Fat Leonard."
"Fat Leonard," whose real name is Leonard Glenn Francis, was at the center of a massive Pentagon bribery scandal that started in 2004, according to charging documents. Described by the Associated Press as an "enigmatic figure" who was 6-foot-3 and weighed 350 pounds at one time, Francis owned and operated his family’s Singapore-based ship servicing business called Glenn Defense Marine Asia.
The Miami Herald writes that Francis, Glenn Defense Marine Asia, provided "husbanding services" for the U.S. Navy, which included coordinating, scheduling and procuring items and services for ships and submarines at ports. GDMA, The Washington Post said, held $250 million in U.S. defense contracts.
The Department of Justice said Francis used the officers' positions and "influence" within the Navy to advocate for, and advance, his own interests and those of Glenn Defense Marine Asia.
Francis and GDMA would gift "cash, gifts, travel expenses, entertainment expenses and the services of prostitutes" to Navy officers and employees in exchange for classified information and so he could win more contracts, the Department of Justice said. Navy officers also looked away, authorities said, when Francis, a Malaysian former military contractor, overcharged for supplying ships or charged for fake services.
Francis, prosecutors said, ended up scamming the Navy out of at least $35 million. He'd already been the subject of a Naval Criminal Investigative Service probe after years of fraud complaints about GDMA, The Washington Post reports.
Eventually, Francis was arrested when law enforcement lured him to a hotel room in San Diego. In 2015, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery and conspiracy to defraud the United States. As part of his plea agreement, Francis cooperated with the investigation.
Francis was hospitalized and treated for renal cancer as well as other medical issues while waiting to be sentenced.
After he left the hospital, Francis was allowed to stay at a rental home on house arrest with a GPS ankle monitor and security guards.
Three weeks before he was scheduled to be sentenced in September 2022, though, Francis snipped off his monitor and escaped, which set off an international search for him. Eventually, Francis fled to Mexico, then Cuba, before finally getting to Venezuela. U.S. Marshals and NCIS announced a $40,000 reward for his capture. When he got to Venezuela, the Miami Herald wrote, Francis was arrested before he boarded a flight at the Simon Bolivar International Airport.
Since then, he has been in Venezuelan custody and requested asylum.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.