{"id":45360,"date":"2022-09-26T22:44:13","date_gmt":"2022-09-26T22:44:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/09\/26\/fat-leonard-fugitive-in-navy-bribery-case-seeks-venezuelan-asylum\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T20:08:58","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:08:58","slug":"fat-leonard-fugitive-in-navy-bribery-case-seeks-venezuelan-asylum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2022\/09\/26\/fat-leonard-fugitive-in-navy-bribery-case-seeks-venezuelan-asylum\/","title":{"rendered":"Fat Leonard, fugitive in Navy bribery case, seeks Venezuelan asylum"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SAN DIEGO \u2014 The fugitive defense contractor nicknamed \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2022\/09\/25\/fat-leonard-may-be-venezuela-bargaining-chip-experts-say\/\" target=\"_blank\">Fat Leonard<\/a>\u201d who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2022\/09\/07\/fat-leonard-escape-is-latest-twist-in-navy-bribery-case\/\" target=\"_blank\">orchestrated a huge bribery scheme involving dozens of U.S. Navy officials<\/a>, has requested asylum in Venezuela, a law enforcement official said Monday, nearly a week after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2022\/09\/22\/fat-leonard-fugitive-in-huge-navy-bribery-case-caught-in-venezuela\/\" target=\"_blank\">he was captured in the South American country<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2022\/09\/06\/fat-leonard-facing-sentencing-in-bribery-scandal-is-on-the-lam\/\" target=\"_blank\">Leonard Glenn Francis slipped away from house arrest in San Diego on Sept. 4<\/a>, only weeks before he was to be sentenced. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to speak to the press about the closed proceedings, did not provide any additional details about the Malaysian businessman\u2019s moves. By law the Venezuelan government must consider the asylum request.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2022\/09\/25\/fat-leonard-may-be-venezuela-bargaining-chip-experts-say\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"157\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Fat-Leonard-1.jpg-1.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Fat Leonard may be Venezuela bargaining chip, experts say<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Venezuela and the United States have an extradition agreement but it&#039;s not clear if U.S. authorities have made a formal request.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Francis owned Singapore-based Glenn Defense Marine Asia Ltd. or GDMA, that supplied food, water and fuel to vessels for decades. He has acknowledged overbilling the U.S. Navy by $35 million with the help of dozens of U.S. naval officers whom he plied with prostitutes, Kobe beef, cigars and other bribes so they would direct their ships to ports Francis controlled in the Pacific in Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Francis, known for his wide girth and big personality, pleaded guilty in 2015 and faced up to 25 years in prison. While awaiting sentencing, he was given home confinement in San Diego to receive medical care as he cooperated with the prosecution, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2022\/09\/20\/feds-dismiss-charges-against-retired-admiral-in-fat-leonard-case\/\" target=\"_blank\">led to the convictions of 33 of 34 defendants<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">U.S. and Venezuelan officials said that Francis cut off his ankle monitor, fled to Mexico and then made his way to Cuba before turning up in Venezuela. He was arrested there Tuesday before he boarded a flight at the Simon Bolivar International Airport outside Caracas. Venezuelan officials have said he intended to reach Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Venezuela and the United States have an extradition agreement, though the Biden administration doesn\u2019t officially recognize President Nicolas Maduro\u2019s socialist government, has no embassy in Venezuela and has imposed crushing sanctions on the country that have further embittered relations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">U.S. authorities have 30 days to formally request his extradition. In an email, a Department of Justice spokesperson has said that the agency does not comment on extradition-related matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The U.S. attorney\u2019s office did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment about Francis\u2019 request for asylum in Venezuela.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Goodman reported from Miami.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The fugitive defense contractor nicknamed \u201cFat Leonard\u201d has requested asylum in Venezuela, a law enforcement official said Monday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":81041,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":65,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["your-military","news","left-column","home","newsletters"],"primary_category":"your-military"}}},"categories":[101,23,88,12,26,65],"tags":[],"coauthors":[2966,2091],"class_list":["post-45360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-left-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-navy"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"GXKSDIDFPZFRTOWY7EXAZTKKDE","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-navy\/2022\/09\/26\/fat-leonard-fugitive-in-navy-bribery-case-seeks-venezuelan-asylum\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Fat Leonard, fugitive in Navy bribery case, seeks Venezuelan asylum - Navy Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The fugitive defense contractor nicknamed \u201cFat Leonard\u201d has requested asylum in Venezuela, a law enforcement official said Monday.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fat Leonard, fugitive in Navy bribery case, seeks Venezuelan asylum\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The fugitive defense contractor nicknamed \u201cFat Leonard\u201d has requested asylum in Venezuela, a law enforcement official said Monday.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2022\/09\/26\/fat-leonard-fugitive-in-navy-bribery-case-seeks-venezuelan-asylum\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Navy Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-09-26T22:44:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T20:08:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Joshua Goodman, The Associated Press, Julie Watson, The Associated Press\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Joshua Goodman, The Associated Press, Julie Watson, The Associated Press\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2022\\\/09\\\/26\\\/fat-leonard-fugitive-in-navy-bribery-case-seeks-venezuelan-asylum\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2022\\\/09\\\/26\\\/fat-leonard-fugitive-in-navy-bribery-case-seeks-venezuelan-asylum\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Fat Leonard, fugitive in Navy bribery case, seeks Venezuelan asylum\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2022-09-26T22:44:13+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T20:08:58+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2022\\\/09\\\/26\\\/fat-leonard-fugitive-in-navy-bribery-case-seeks-venezuelan-asylum\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 386,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2022\\\/09\\\/26\\\/fat-leonard-fugitive-in-navy-bribery-case-seeks-venezuelan-asylum\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Fat-Leonard-1.jpg-1.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Home\",\n\t                \"Left Column\",\n\t                \"News\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Your Navy\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2022\\\/09\\\/26\\\/fat-leonard-fugitive-in-navy-bribery-case-seeks-venezuelan-asylum\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2022\\\/09\\\/26\\\/fat-leonard-fugitive-in-navy-bribery-case-seeks-venezuelan-asylum\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2022\\\/09\\\/26\\\/fat-leonard-fugitive-in-navy-bribery-case-seeks-venezuelan-asylum\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Fat Leonard, fugitive in Navy bribery case, seeks Venezuelan asylum - Navy Times\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2022\\\/09\\\/26\\\/fat-leonard-fugitive-in-navy-bribery-case-seeks-venezuelan-asylum\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2022\\\/09\\\/26\\\/fat-leonard-fugitive-in-navy-bribery-case-seeks-venezuelan-asylum\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Fat-Leonard-1.jpg-1.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2022-09-26T22:44:13+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T20:08:58+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"The fugitive defense contractor nicknamed \u201cFat Leonard\u201d has requested asylum in Venezuela, a law enforcement official said Monday.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2022\\\/09\\\/26\\\/fat-leonard-fugitive-in-navy-bribery-case-seeks-venezuelan-asylum\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2022\\\/09\\\/26\\\/fat-leonard-fugitive-in-navy-bribery-case-seeks-venezuelan-asylum\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2022\\\/09\\\/26\\\/fat-leonard-fugitive-in-navy-bribery-case-seeks-venezuelan-asylum\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Fat-Leonard-1.jpg-1.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Fat-Leonard-1.jpg-1.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2022\\\/09\\\/26\\\/fat-leonard-fugitive-in-navy-bribery-case-seeks-venezuelan-asylum\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"News\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"news\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Your Navy\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"your-navy\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 4,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Fat Leonard, fugitive in Navy bribery case, seeks Venezuelan asylum\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Navy Times\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Independent News For Sailors | Navy Times\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Navy Times\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/navy-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/navy-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Navy Times\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Fat Leonard, fugitive in Navy bribery case, seeks Venezuelan asylum - Navy Times","description":"The fugitive defense contractor nicknamed \u201cFat Leonard\u201d has requested asylum in Venezuela, a law enforcement official said Monday.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Fat Leonard, fugitive in Navy bribery case, seeks Venezuelan asylum","og_description":"The fugitive defense contractor nicknamed \u201cFat Leonard\u201d has requested asylum in Venezuela, a law enforcement official said Monday.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2022\/09\/26\/fat-leonard-fugitive-in-navy-bribery-case-seeks-venezuelan-asylum\/","og_site_name":"Navy Times","article_published_time":"2022-09-26T22:44:13+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T20:08:58+00:00","author":"Joshua Goodman, The Associated Press, Julie Watson, The Associated Press","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Joshua Goodman, The Associated Press, Julie Watson, The Associated Press","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2022\/09\/26\/fat-leonard-fugitive-in-navy-bribery-case-seeks-venezuelan-asylum\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2022\/09\/26\/fat-leonard-fugitive-in-navy-bribery-case-seeks-venezuelan-asylum\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Fat Leonard, fugitive in Navy bribery case, seeks Venezuelan asylum","datePublished":"2022-09-26T22:44:13+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T20:08:58+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2022\/09\/26\/fat-leonard-fugitive-in-navy-bribery-case-seeks-venezuelan-asylum\/"},"wordCount":386,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2022\/09\/26\/fat-leonard-fugitive-in-navy-bribery-case-seeks-venezuelan-asylum\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Fat-Leonard-1.jpg-1.jpg","articleSection":["Daily News Roundup","Home","Left Column","News","Newsletters","Your Navy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2022\/09\/26\/fat-leonard-fugitive-in-navy-bribery-case-seeks-venezuelan-asylum\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2022\/09\/26\/fat-leonard-fugitive-in-navy-bribery-case-seeks-venezuelan-asylum\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2022\/09\/26\/fat-leonard-fugitive-in-navy-bribery-case-seeks-venezuelan-asylum\/","name":"Fat Leonard, fugitive in Navy bribery case, seeks Venezuelan asylum - Navy Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2022\/09\/26\/fat-leonard-fugitive-in-navy-bribery-case-seeks-venezuelan-asylum\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2022\/09\/26\/fat-leonard-fugitive-in-navy-bribery-case-seeks-venezuelan-asylum\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Fat-Leonard-1.jpg-1.jpg","datePublished":"2022-09-26T22:44:13+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T20:08:58+00:00","description":"The fugitive defense contractor nicknamed \u201cFat Leonard\u201d has requested asylum in Venezuela, a law enforcement official said Monday.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2022\/09\/26\/fat-leonard-fugitive-in-navy-bribery-case-seeks-venezuelan-asylum\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2022\/09\/26\/fat-leonard-fugitive-in-navy-bribery-case-seeks-venezuelan-asylum\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2022\/09\/26\/fat-leonard-fugitive-in-navy-bribery-case-seeks-venezuelan-asylum\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Fat-Leonard-1.jpg-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Fat-Leonard-1.jpg-1.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2022\/09\/26\/fat-leonard-fugitive-in-navy-bribery-case-seeks-venezuelan-asylum\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/","ad_zone":"news"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Your Navy","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/","ad_zone":"your-navy"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Fat Leonard, fugitive in Navy bribery case, seeks Venezuelan asylum"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/","name":"Navy Times","description":"Independent News For Sailors | Navy Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#organization","name":"Navy Times","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/navy-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/navy-logo-white.png","caption":"Navy Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Navy Times","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Fat-Leonard-1.jpg-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45360"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45360\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45368,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45360\/revisions\/45368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45360"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=45360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}