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PENANG-born Leonard Francis, best known as simply "Fat Leonard, was denied an early release from prison by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in United States.
Francis who managed his late father's sprawling marine supplies and defence contracting services from initially Penang before expanding to Singapore, was found guilty by the US courts in 2024 of masterminding a vast corruption scheme involving US Navy officials.
He was found guilty of using bribes, sex, and luxury gifts to ensure that a flotilla of US Navy vessels used his Glen Defence Marine Asia's contracting services for supplies and repair works in Singapore.
The US appeals court rejected Francis’ claims that a California district court mishandled his sentencing and that it violated his constitutional rights.
It was first reported by a US portal courthousenews service that Francis asked the appeals court to consider his extensive cooperation with the US government’s investigation into the corruption scheme, as well as complicated health issues that the now 61-year-old argues are a death sentence in prison.
The details of those health issues were however not made known in public although it was previously reported that the burly lad suffers from chronic ailments, which require constant medication.
Francis was under the custody of US Marshalls when he managed to escape in 2022 to Caracas, Venezuela.
He was however apprehended by the US authorities 17-days later as he was in the midst of seeking refuge in Russia.
Francis was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2024 although throughout the proceedings, he had claimed that he was a willing informant for the US Navy.
And it was through his information that, the US Navy managed to prosecute 30 other defendants including top navy officials although the most severe punishment was imposed on Francis himself by the US courts.
The judges wrote that: “Namely, Francis was the ‘mastermind’ of the entire operation.”
The panel also noted that Francis had “fled the country prior to his original sentencing date” in 2022.
Furthermore, “the district court appropriately weighed Francis’s medical needs against the other sentencing factors in making its determination,” the judges continued.
The investigation into Francis and Glenn Defence Marine Asia began in 2010, according to the original complaint from the government.
In 2013, federal agents lured Francis to San Diego with the promise of a new multimillion-dollar contract, where they arrested him.
The sprawling bribery and corruption investigation ultimately resulted in 34 criminal convictions.
Additionally, 600 individuals were referred to the Navy for misconduct, according to U.S. attorneys.
Francis is currently imprisoned at Terminal Island, in San Pedro, California, where he is scheduled to be released in 2031. - December 22, 2025.