How 'Fat Leonard' Infiltrated The US Navy's Floating Headquarters In Asia

The Stars and Stripes offers Craig Whitlock’s piece on the Fat Leonard U.S. Navy bribery scandal and the 7^th Fleet Flagship, the USS Blue Ridge (seen in the above photo).

As the flagship for the Navy's 7th Fleet, the USS Blue Ridge plays a critical role in national security by overseeing all U.S. maritime operations in Asia and the western Pacific. The venerable warship is the Navy's second-oldest active-duty vessel and has survived the Vietnam War, the Cold War and tensions with China and North Korea.

  

But there is one foreign threat against which the Blue Ridge proved utterly defenseless for many years: a 6-foot-3, 350-pound tugboat owner known as "Fat Leonard."

In a case that ranks as the worst corruption scandal in Navy history, the Justice Department has charged 15 officers and one enlisted sailor who served on the Blue Ridge with taking bribes from or lying about their ties to Leonard Glenn Francis (seen in the below photo), a Singapore-based tycoon who held lucrative contracts to service Navy ships and submarines in Asian ports.

For the better part of a decade, as part of a massive scam to defraud the Navy, Francis systematically infiltrated the Blue Ridge to a degree that is only now coming into focus, more than four years after the defense contractor's arrest, according to the documents from federal court and the Navy, as well as interviews with Navy officials and associates of Francis.

Prosecutors say nine sailors from the 7th Fleet flagship leaked classified information about ship movements and other secrets to Francis, a Malaysian citizen, making the Blue Ridge perhaps the most widely compromised U.S. military headquarters of the modern era. 

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://www.stripes.com/news/navy/how-fat-leonard-infiltrated-the-us-navy-s-floating-headquarters-in-asia-1.509519 

You can also read my Counterterrorism magazine piece on the Fat Leonard scandal via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2017/03/my-piece-on-fat-leonard-us-navy-bribery.html 

Navy Officer Pleads Guilty To Trading Info For Entertainment, Sex In ‘Fat Leonard’ Scandal

Matthew M. Burke at the Stars and Stripes offers a piece on another Navy officer taken down with the “Fat Leonard’ bribery and fraud scandal.

Another Navy officer has fallen under the specter of the ever-growing “Fat Leonard” fraud and corruption scandal.

Former Cmdr. Troy Amundson (seen in the above Navy photo on the right), 50, of Ramsey, Minn., pleaded guilty Tuesday in District Court in San Diego to one federal charge of conspiracy to commit bribery for trading “confidential, proprietary U.S. Navy information” for entertainment expenses and prostitutes, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California.

Amundson is the 20th of 29 defendants to plead guilty in the scandal and faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The charges stem from a decade-long conspiracy where foreign defense contractor Leonard Glenn “Fat Leonard” Francis of the Singapore-based Glenn Defense Marine Asia traded bribes and gifts — from cash to Spanish suckling pigs and luxury travel — to a slew of top Navy officers across the Pacific in exchange for information on ship movements and contracts, resulting in tens of millions of dollars in fraudulent over-billing.

Francis (seen in the above photo) pleaded guilty in 2015 to bribery and fraud charges.

“Amundson deliberately, methodically, and repeatedly traded his public office for entertainment expenses and the services of prostitutes, and in so doing, aligned himself with a foreign defense contractor over his Navy, his colleagues and his country,” U.S. Attorney Adam Braverman said in the statement. “We are pressing forward in this investigation until we are certain that all involved have been held accountable.”

Amundson was in a unique position to aid Francis and GDMA as the officer in charge of the Navy’s joint military exercises in the region from May 2005 to May 2013, the statement said. He was responsible for maintaining relationships with foreign navies.

As part of his plea, Amundson admitted that from September 2012 through October 2013 Francis paid for meals, drinks, transportation, other entertainment expenses and prostitutes for Amundson and other Navy officers.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://www.stripes.com/news/navy-officer-pleads-guilty-to-trading-info-for-entertainment-sex-in-fat-leonard-scandal-1.509248 

You can also read my Counterterrorism magazine piece on the Fat Leonard case via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2017/03/my-piece-on-fat-leonard-us-navy-bribery.html 

U.S. Navy Won't Punish Vice Admiral Stripped Of Security Clearance During 'Fat Leonard' Probe

Carl Prine at the San Diego Union-Tribune offers a piece on the “Fat Leonard” Navy bribary and fraud scandal.

Fretting about his possible role in the “Fat Leonard” bribery scandal, in late 2013 the Navy stripped the security clearance of its top spy, destroying the career of Vice Adm. Ted “Twig” Branch (seen in the above photo).

On Friday, the Navy closed its review with what it called appropriate administrative action for Branch, the former director of Navy intelligence.

The U.S. Department of Justice — which has handled the prosecution of those who took bribes from contractor Leonard Glenn Francis (seen in the below photo) and his Singapore-based Glenn Defense Marine Asia — brought no charges against Branch.

"The Department of Justice declined to prosecute Vice Adm. Ted Branch and forwarded his matter to the Department of the Navy's Consolidated Disposition Authority,” said Navy Fleet Forces Command spokesman Cmdr. Mike Kafka in a written statement. “After completing a thorough and detailed review of the evidence, the CDA took appropriate administrative action. This matter is closed."

Administrative action can include a non-punitive letter of reprimand or an oral counseling chiding a sailor for questionable conduct. Unlike other judicial or military sanctions, administrative action cannot take pay and privileges from a shipmate.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/military/sd-me-twig-branch-20170922-story.html 

Former U.S. Naval Attaché And Military Advisor To The U.S. Ambassador In The Philippines Sentenced For Taking Bribes In Massive Navy Corruption Scandal

The U.S. Justice Department released the below information:

A Retired U.S. Navy Captain was sentenced in federal court today to 41 months in prison for his role in a massive bribery and fraud scheme involving foreign defense contractor Leonard Glenn Francis (seen in the below photo) and his firm, Singapore-based, Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA).

Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Alana W. Robinson Southern District of California, Director Dermot O'Reilly of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and Director Andrew Traver of the NCIS made the announcement.

In addition to the 41-month prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Janis L. Sammartino ordered Michael Brooks, 59, of Fairfax Station, Virginia, to pay a $41,000 fine and $31,000 in restitution to the U.S. Navy.  Brooks pleaded guilty in November 2016 to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery.

Brooks, who served as the U.S. Naval Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines, from 2006 to 2008, has admitted accepting bribes of travel and entertainment expenses, hotel rooms and the services of prostitutes. In return, Brooks admitted that he used his power and influence to benefit GDMA and Francis, including by securing quarterly clearances for GDMA vessels, which allowed GDMA vessels to transit into and out of the Philippines under the diplomatic imprimatur of the U.S. Embassy. Neither GDMA nor any other defense contractor has ever been granted such unfettered clearances.

Brooks admitted that he also allowed Francis to ghostwrite official U.S. Navy documents and correspondence, which Brooks submitted as his own. For example, Brooks admitted allowing GDMA to complete its own contractor performance evaluations. A November 2007 evaluation, drafted by GDMA and submitted by Brooks, described the company’s performance as “phenomenal,” “unsurpassed,” “exceptional” and “world class.” Brooks also admitted providing Francis with sensitive, internal U.S. Navy information, including U.S. Navy ship schedules and billing information belonging to a GDMA competitor, at times using a private Yahoo! e-mail account to mask his illicit acts.

Twenty-one current and former Navy officials have been charged so far in the fraud and bribery investigation; 10 have pleaded guilty and 10 cases are pending. In addition, five GDMA executives and GDMA the corporation have pleaded guilty.

NCIS, DCIS and DCAA are conducting the ongoing investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark W. Pletcher and Patrick Hovakimian of the Southern District of California and Assistant Chief Brian R. Young of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

Anyone with information relating to fraud, corruption or waste in government contracting should contact the NCIS anonymous tip line at www.ncis.navy.mil or the DOD Hotline at www.dodig.mil/hotline, or call (800) 424-9098.

Note: To learn more about the ‘Fat Leonard’ Navy Bribery Scandal you can read my Counterterrorism magazine piece via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2017/03/my-piece-on-fat-leonard-us-navy-bribery.html 

Fat Leonard Case: U.S. Navy Admiral Sentenced To Prison For Lying To Federal Investigators About His Relationship With Foreign Defense Contractor In Massive Navy Bribery And Fraud Investigation

The U.S. Justice Department released the below information:

U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Robert Gilbeau was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for lying to investigators to conceal his illicit 20-year relationship with Leonard Glenn Francis, the owner of Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA), the foreign defense contractor at the center of a major bribery and fraud scandal.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Alana W. Robinson of the Southern District of California, Acting Director Dermot O’Reilly of the Department of Defense’s (DOD) Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Director Andrew Traver of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and Director Anita Bales of Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) made the announcement.

On June 9, 2016, Gilbeau, 56, pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements and was sentenced before U.S. District Judge Janis L. Sammartino of the Southern District of California. Gilbeau is the highest-ranking U.S. Navy officer to be sentenced in the investigation so far.

In connection with his plea, Gilbeau admitted that he lied when he told agents from DCIS and NCIS that he had never received any gifts from Francis. Gilbeau also admitted that he lied when he told investigators that he “always paid for half of the dinner” when he and Francis met about three times a year. Gilbeau further admitted that when he became aware that Francis and others had been arrested in connection with the fraud and bribery offenses in September 2013, he destroyed documents and deleted computer files. Francis previously pleaded guilty to plying scores of other U.S. Navy officials with gifts such as luxury travel, meals, cash, electronics, parties and prostitutes.

By way of background, GDMA provided ship husbanding services such as trash and sewage removal, food, water, security and fuel to U.S. Navy ships. As stated in his plea agreement, in 2003 and 2004, Gilbeau was the supply officer on the USS Nimitz, where he was responsible for procuring all goods and services necessary for operation of the ship. He later served as head of the Tsunami Relief Crisis Action Team in Singapore, heading the Navy’s logistics response to the Southeast Asia tsunami in December 2004, and in June 2005, Gilbeau was assigned to the office of the Chief of Naval Operations as the head of aviation material support, establishing policies and requirements for budgeting and acquisitions for the Navy’s air forces, according to the plea agreement. In August 2010, after he was promoted to admiral, Gilbeau assumed command of the Defense Contract Management Agency International, where he was responsible for the global administration of DOD’s most critical contracts performed outside the United States, according to admissions made in connection with his plea.

Twenty current and former Navy officials have been charged so far in the fraud and bribery investigation. Of the 20 Navy officials, 10 have pleaded guilty, and 10 cases are pending. Five GDMA executives and the GDMA corporation have pleaded guilty.

The DCIS, NCIS and the DCAA are investigating this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark W. Pletcher and Patrick Hovakimian of the Southern District of California and Assistant Chief Brian R. Young of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

Anyone with information relating to fraud or corruption should contact the NCIS anonymous tip line at www.ncis.navy.mil or the DOD Hotline at www.dodig.mil/hotline, or call (800) 424-9098.

'Fat Leonard' U.S. Navy Bribery & Fraud Case: Former Supervisory Contracting Officer Sentenced To 72 Months In Prison As Part Of Expanding Navy Bribery Scandal

The U.S. Justice Department released the below information:

A former supervisory contracting officer was sentenced to 72 months in prison today for accepting bribe payments in exchange for steering U.S. Navy contracts to the president and chief executive officer of a defense contractor.   

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Laura E. Duffy of the Southern District of California, Director Andrew L. Traver of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and Director Dermot F. O’Reilly of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) made the announcement. 

Paul Simpkins, 62, of Haymarket, Virginia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Janis L. Sammartino of the Southern District of California for his role in steering contracts to Leonard Francis, the president and CEO of Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA).  Judge Sammartino also ordered Simpkins to pay $450,000 in restitution, to forfeit $150,000 and pay a $50,000 fine.  Simpkins pleaded guilty on June 23 to conspiracy to commit bribery and bribery.

“Paul Simpkins abused his position as a Navy contracting officer to obtain cash, air travel, hotel rooms and prostitutes,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell.  “Along with others convicted in this ongoing investigation, Simpkins tarnished the reputation earned by the U.S. Navy officers and enlisted and civilian personnel who honorably serve this nation every day.”

“With premeditation beyond that of many of the other defendants in this case, Simpkins methodically plotted to receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribe money and launder it through a secret foreign bank account in someone else’s name,” said U.S. Attorney Duffy.  “We tip our hat to the investigators who discovered this crime and brought the perpetrator to justice.  With the lengthy prison sentence imposed today, we take another step on this long journey toward deterring future misconduct and restoring the public’s trust in our most storied institutions.”

“Simpkins is yet another example of an individual forsaking his responsibility to American warfighters and taxpayers in favor of personal gain,” said Director Traver.  “As the GDMA investigation moves forward, NCIS will continue to fulfill our responsibility of holding people like Simpkins accountable for their actions.”

“Today’s sentencing of Paul Simpkins is yet another example of the continued dedication by DCIS and our law enforcement partners to bring to justice those individuals who would abuse their positions of trust within the Department of Defense,” said Director O’Reilly.  “Corrupt contracting practices damage the public trust and ultimately undermine the efforts of the Department of Defense to support our men and women in uniform.”

According to admissions made as part of his plea agreement, Simpkins held a number of managerial-level contracting positions throughout the federal government, including positions as a supervisory contract specialist at the U.S. Navy Regional Contracting Center in Singapore from April 2005 through June 2007; a contracting officer assistant director with the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys in Washington from June 2007 to December 2007; and as a supervisory manager in the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Office of Small Business Programs beginning in December 2007.  Simpkins admitted that from approximately May 2006 to September 2012, he participated in a bribery scheme with Francis in which he accepted travel and entertainment expenses, the services of prostitutes and at least $300,000 in exchange for helping to steer lucrative U.S. Navy contract to Francis and GDMA.  Simpkins provided Francis with internal, proprietary U.S. Navy information and intervened on GDMA’s behalf in contract disputes, he admitted. 

To conceal the true nature of wire transfers, Simpkins used an email account belonging to his mistress to advise Francis of the routing and account information for a bank account belonging to his wife.  In another email, Simpkins asked Francis to provide “some clean, disease free” women and in another email Simpkins advised Francis that he “will arrive in Singapore on 11 September.  Whats [sic] the plan to meet up and maybe do some honey’s? [sic]” 

Simpkins used his influence within the U.S. Navy to benefit GDMA, including by helping GDMA to secure valuable ship husbanding contracts to service U.S. Navy vessels in Thailand and the Philippines, he admitted.  In addition, Simpkins interceded on GDMA’s behalf in contract disputes with the U.S. Navy.  In one incident in 2006, for example, Simpkins’s subordinate recommended that GDMA’s husbanding contract in Thailand not be extended due to “many exceedingly high cost” items and concluded that the contract should be re-opened to competitive bidding, which would have allowed other firms to bid on the contract.  Simpkins overruled the subordinate and extended GDMA’s contract, he admitted.  In another example, Simpkins instructed U.S. Navy officials in Hong Kong to discontinue the use of meters that monitored the volume of liquid waste that GDMA removed from U.S. Navy ships under its husbanding contracts.  In June 2006, Simpkins instructed a U.S. Navy official not to review invoices that GDMA submitted in connection to a recent port call in Hong Kong after Francis complained that U.S. Navy personnel were asking questions, Simpkins admitted. 

To date, a total of 16 individuals have been charged in connection with the GDMA corruption and fraud investigation.  Francis has pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing.  As part of his plea agreement, Francis admitted to over-billing the U.S. Navy for over $35 million on ship husbanding contracts by, among other means, reporting that GMDA had removed more liquid waste from ships than it actually did.  Four other GDMA executives have also been charged, Alex Wisidagama, Ed Aruffo, Neil Peterson and Linda Raja.  Wisidagama has pleaded guilty and was sentenced on March 18 to 63 months in prison and $34.8 million in restitution to the Navy.  Aruffo has pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing; Peterson’s and Raja’s cases are pending. 

The remaining 11 of the 16 individuals charged are current or former U.S. Navy officials, including Admiral Robert Gilbeau, Lt. Commander Gentry Debord, Commander Bobby Pitts, Captain Daniel Dusek, Commander Michael Misiewicz, Lt. Commander Todd Malaki, Commander Jose Luis Sanchez, former NCIS Supervisory Special Agent John Beliveau II, Petty Officer First Class Daniel Layug and Paul Simpkins, a former DoD civilian employee who oversaw contracting in Singapore.

Gilbeau, Debord, Dusek, Misiewicz, Malaki, Beliveau, Sanchez and Layug have also pleaded guilty in connection with the scheme.  On Jan. 21, Layug was sentenced to 27 months in prison and a $15,000 fine; on Jan. 29, Malaki was sentenced to 40 months in prison and to pay $15,000 in restitution to the Navy and a $15,000 fine; on March 25, Dusek was sentenced to 46 months in prison and to pay $30,000 in restitution to the Navy and a $70,000 fine; on April 29, Misiewicz was sentenced to 78 months in prison and to pay a fine of $100,000 and to pay $95,000 in restitution to the Navy; and on Oct. 14, 2015, Beliveau was sentenced to serve 144 months in prison and ordered to pay $20 million in restitution to the Navy.  Gilbeau and Sanchez await sentencing.  Pitts was charged in May 2016 and his case remains pending.

NCIS, DCIS and DCAA investigated the case.  Assistant Chief Brian R. Young of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark W. Pletcher and Patrick Hovakimian of the Southern District of California are prosecuting the case.  

The Fraud Section plays a pivotal role in the Department of Justice’s fight against white collar crime around the country.  Those with information relating to fraud, corruption or waste in government contracting should contact the NCIS anonymous tip line at www.ncis.navy.mil or the DOD Hotline at www.dodig.mil/hotline, or call (800) 424-9098. 

Retired U.S. Navy Captain Becomes Latest Officer To Admit Taking Bribes And Prostitutes From ‘Fat Leonard’

Craig Whitlock at the Washington Post offers a piece on the latest U.S. naval officer to plead guilty in the massive Navy "Fat Leonard" bribery and fraud scandal.

A retired Navy captain who also served as the U.S. naval attache in the Philippines pleaded guilty to corruption in federal court Tuesday, admitting that he secretly worked as an agent for an Asian defense contractor in exchange for gifts, travel and the services of prostitutes.

Michael George Brooks, 57, of Fairfax Station, Va., pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in San Diego to a charge of conspiracy to commit bribery. He faces a sentence of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

In his plea agreement, Brooks acknowledged that he and his family members accepted fine wines, hotel rooms, electronics, luxury watches and prostitutes on dozens of occasions from Leonard Glenn Francis, a Singapore-based contractor known as “Fat Leonard” in Navy circles. Francis’s firm, Glenn Defense Marine Asia, held contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars to resupply and refuel U.S. Navy ships at ports throughout Asia.

Francis pleaded guilty to bribery charges last year in the case, which has erupted into the worst corruption case in the history of the Navy. Seventeen people have been charged with crimes in federal court, including an admiral and eight other officers. Another defendant has been charged in Singapore. About two thirds of those facing charges have pleaded guilty.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/11/15/retired-navy-captain-becomes-latest-officer-to-admit-taking-bribes-and-prostitutes-from-fat-leonard/?wpisrc=nl_check&wpmm=1