Judge dismisses felony convictions of 5 retired military officers in US Navy corruption case

SAN DIEGO — A federal judge on Tuesday threw out the felony convictions of five retired military officers who admitted to accepting bribes from a Malaysian entrepreneur nicknamed Fat Leonard in one of the country's largest corruption cases. Marine.

The dismissals came at the request of the government and not the defense, citing procedural errors.

Retired U.S. Navy officers Donald Hornbeck, Robert Gorsuch and Jose Luis Sanchez, along with U.S. Marine Corps Col. Enrico DeGuzman, pleaded guilty Tuesday to a misdemeanor charge of disclosing information , while the entire case of US Navy officer Stephen Shedd was dismissed. Their defense attorneys could not immediately be reached for comment.

It marks the latest setback in the government's years-long effort to pursue dozens of military officials linked to defense contractor Leonard Francis, nicknamed Fat Leonard. The enigmatic character who stood 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighed 350 pounds at one point owned and operated Singapore-based Glenn Defense Marine Asia Ltd., which supplied food, water and fuel to naval ships American.

Francis awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to offering more than $500,000 in cash bribes, as well as other gifts and wild sex parties in Southeast Asia, to Navy officials, to defense contractors and others. The scheme allowed him to defraud the Sea Service of at least $35 million by forcing commanders to reroute ships to ports he controlled and overcharging for services, according to the indictment. He was arrested in 2013 during a sting operation in San Diego.

Prosecutors said in legal papers outlining their Tuesday request for dismissal that the action did not mean the defendants did not commit the crimes charged, but that because information was not provided to the defense and other mistakes had been made, they wanted to ensure that justice was done fairly.

In 2022, U.S. District Court Judge Janis Sammartino ruled that the former lead federal prosecutor committed egregious misconduct by withholding information from defense attorneys. In September, the felony convictions of four former Navy officers were also overturned. All four men pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and agreed to pay a fine of $100 each.

The dismissals issued by Sammartino on Tuesday come weeks before Francis is due back in court to set a date for his sentencing.

Francis returned to the United States late last year after a daring escape from house arrest in San Diego in 2022 weeks before his initial sentencing hearing. He was later captured in Venezuela, which extradited him to the United States in a prisoner exchange.

This escape was also seen by some as a misstep by the prosecution, which allowed him to avoid being held behind bars.

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