From Russia, Japan to Australia, high ranking official Luis Sanchez is the second Navy official to plead guilty in an alleged conspiracy to release classified information about the Navy. In exchange for lavish travel expenses and payment for prostitutes, Sanchez helped steer ships in several countries to a Singapore-based company that provided services to vessels at ports.
When asked in a San Diego court to silently read four passages of a 24-page plea agreement and to confirm whether any wrongdoing described in the document was accurate, Sanchez gave an affirmative nod.
"Yes, sir," he told the judge each time.
Sanchez acknowledged that he shared confidential information to Glenn Francis, also known in military circles as “Fat Leonard,” from 2009 to 2013. A familiar face among Navy admirals, Francis is the chief executive at Glenn Defense Marine Asia, the Singapore Company, which has serviced ships for 25 years.
Francis has been under investigation for allegedly using cash, luxury travel and prostitutes to barter with Navy officials. Prosecutors said the exchange for inside information would help Francis win contracts and further milk the Navy.
Aside from Sanchez, four others have plead guilty in connection to this same case.
The allegations have expanded since 2013, when a senior law enforcement agent accused of taking bribes plead guilty and agreed to cooperate with lawyers in the corruption case. At the time, lawyers suspected it would eventually ensnarl more than half a dozen Navy officers.
Before Sanchez, former U.S. Navy Officer Edmond Aruffo, who retired in 2007 and served as an executive for the company, plead guilty last July to one count of conspiracy to overbill the Navy for basic services every time these ships docked in a Japanese port.
In a similar scenario, prosecutors said that Francis had bought information from Sanchez. It allowed the company to overbill the Navy for port services in Asia by at least $20 million since 2009, according to the AP.
Sanchez held key positions in Singapore and Japan before he was reassigned to Tampa, Florida in 2013. Among the list of items that were granted to Sanchez, prosecutors are alleging the Navy officer took $100,000 in cash, plane tickets and prostitution.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 27.
