According to the Washington Post, the US Navy's caseload has grown as the US Justice Department handed them cases of certain individuals "who did not meet the threshold for prosecution in civilian courts, but may have committed offenses under the military justice system."
"The defendants in this indictment were entrusted with the honor and responsibility of administering the operations of the US Navy's Seventh Fleet, which is tasked with protecting our nation by guarding an area of responsibility that spanned from Russia to Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean," Blanco said in a statement obtained by the International Business Times. "With this honor and awesome responsibility came a duty to make decisions based on the best interests of the Navy and the 40,000 sailors and Marines under their care who put their lives at risk every day to keep us secure and free."
"Unfortunately, however, these defendants are alleged to have sold their honor and responsibility in exchange for personal enrichment," Blanco added.
Considered one of the worst corruption cases in the US Navy's history, the "Fat Leonard" scandal revolves around Leonard Glenn Francis, a Malaysian defense contractor who bribed officers with money, sex workers, vacations and even tickets to a Lady Gaga concert, the IB Times reported.
In exchange for the lavish gifts, service members would in turn provide Francis with locations of US ships and submarines, navy contracts and even tip him off whenever an investigation was launched into his company, Glenn Defense Marine Asia. The company had previously been under investigation for profiting from supplying vessels in ports in Vladivostok and Brisbane, the Times added.
The Justice Department has filed criminal charges against 28 people, including two admirals, while the Navy has only charged five people, none of them admirals, the Post reported.
The Post report also added that 230 people of those under review were by no means guilty of misconduct, as the Navy discovered there were "extenuating circumstances that excused their actions." Forty other cases in which officials violated ethics rules or regulations were ultimately dealt with administratively — meaning no criminal charges were included in their punishment.
The 53-year-old contractor, often called "Leonard the Legend" for his wild parties and "Fat Leonard" for weighing roughly 360 pounds, pleaded guilty in 2015 to bribing dozens of Navy officials and defrauding the US government more than $35 million dollars. Francis, who is currently booked in a San Diego prison, is still awaiting his sentencing.
