Task force set up to hunt for 'Fat Leonard'

PETALING JAYA: The San Diego Fugitive Task Force is on the hunt for fugitive Leonard Francis, better known as "Fat Leonard" who cut off his GPS bracelet and left his home, where he was under house arrest.

A tweet by the United States Marshals said those with information on his whereabouts could call 877-926-8332.

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Penang-born Leonard, who was under house arrest in San Diego, California, had given authorities the slip days before he was due to be sentenced by cutting off his ankle monitor.

The 58-year-old defence contractor was arrested in September 2013 on fraud and bribery charges after federal investigators lured him to San Diego on the pretext of a business meeting with Navy officials.

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He pleaded guilty to bribery and conspiring to defraud the US in January 2015 and was set to be sentenced on Sept 22.

He admitted to using his US Navy contacts, including ship captains, to obtain classified information and to defraud the US Navy of tens of millions of dollars by steering ships to specific ports in the Pacific and falsifying service charges.

If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in jail and he agreed to forfeit US$35mil (RM146mil) in personal assets, an amount he admitted to overcharging the US navy.