Navy briber 'Fat Leonard' loses lawyer at first court date since house arrest escape

SAN DIEGO (CN) — Leonard Glenn “Fat Leonard” Francis appeared in San Diego federal court Thursday morning for the first time since he was returned to the U.S. via extradition, after escaping house arrest in 2022 and fleeing to Venezuela.

Dressed in a disheveled khaki jumpsuit and a white face mask, Francis hardly spoke during the short status conference, where his attorney asked to be removed from representing him as his sentencing moves forward. His appearance hushed the courtroom, too.

In 2015 Francis, a Malaysian owner of a ship-serving company and a military contractor, pleaded guilty to bribery and wire fraud charges in a sprawling investigation involving a conspiracy where Francis and his company paid officers of the U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet in the Pacific Ocean with money, luxurious dinners, travel and sex workers in exchange for classified Navy ship schedules.

Francis leveraged the schedules to influence Navy ship husbandry contracts, then overcharged the government by more than $35 million for husbanding or port services such as water, food, trash and waste removal.

In September 2022 Francis escaped house arrest three weeks before his sentencing. He was arrested by Venezuelan police outside Caracas as he attempted to board a flight, possibly to Russia, officials said.

In December the Biden administration announced it would free Alex Saab, an ally of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, in exchange for the release of Francis and 10 imprisoned Americans.

During the hearing Jeremy Warren, Francis’ defense attorney, said his client had arrived in the court’s jurisdiction the previous day.

At Thursday’s hearing, Warren told U.S. District Judge Janis Sammartino, a George W. Bush appointee, that he intends to withdraw from the case.

Warren did not specify why he’s asking to withdraw, only that he was making the decision with “a heavy heart” and that Francis “needs counsel that is fully able to advocate for him.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred Sheppard argued Warren’s withdrawal would cause too many delays in the already yearslong case.

“A delay that can go on for quite some time," Sheppard said. “And to what end?”

“This is clearly not due for purposes of delay, and he’s here," Warren, referring to his client, retorted.

Prosecutors also told the judge the federal government is considering filing additional charges against Francis, including indirect contempt, after his sentencing in this one.

On the same day Biden announced Francis’ exchange, Sammartino refused government attorneys’ request to allow four Navy officers, who previously pleaded guilty to felony charges stemming from the scandal, to change their pleas.

The officers’ June 2022 convictions were vacated in September 2023 due to prosecutorial misconduct that Sammartino deemed “outrageous,” and allowed the four men to plead guilty to a misdemeanor and pay a $100 fine.