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U.S. Marshals on Friday posted a reward of up to $40,000 for information leading to the arrest of a military contractor who went on the lam two weeks before his sentencing.
Leonard Glenn “Fat Leonard” Francis, who pleaded guilty to bribing U.S. Navy officials as part of a wide-ranging corruption scheme, had been under house arrest for several years.
He allegedly cut off a GPS monitor he was required to wear and disappeared over Labor Day weekend, according to USMS public affairs.
U.S. Pretrial Services, the federal agency in charge of monitoring Francis’ home confinement, received an alert that his GPS ankle monitor was being tampered with on Sunday morning, according to Omar Castillo, the supervisory deputy U.S. marshal for the Southern District of California.
Pretrial Services notified the U.S. Marshals Service about the alert.
Members of the marshals San Diego Fugitive Task Force went to Francis’ residence in an attempt to locate him. After announcing themselves, task force officers entered the home through an unlocked door.
After a thorough check of the site, officers were unable to locate Francis, but found the GPS monitor that had been cut off, Castillo said.
Francis’ whereabouts are unknown, according to Castillo.
Francis, 58, was scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 22.
He pleaded guilty in 2015 to bribing Navy officers with cash and prostitutes in exchange for classified information, persuading them to direct aircraft carriers to ports he controlled so they could be resupplied by his Singapore-based company.
He also admitted to overcharging the U.S. military by more than $35 million.
Anyone who can help authorities locate Francis is asked to call the Marshals Service at 877-926-8332 or provide information anonymously via the USMS Tips App.
– City News Service
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