On the morning of September 4, at 7:35 AM, Leonard Glenn Francis, known as “Fat Leonard,” cut his ankle bracelet monitor and fled house arrest in San Diego. “Fat Leonard,” the 350 pound Malaysian businessman at the center of the largest bribery scandal in US Navy history, had been under house arrest in San Diego since his guilty plea in 2015, undergoing treatment for cancer — and podcasting.

At last count, the long-running fraud and bribery investigation has resulted in federal criminal charges against 34 U.S. Navy officials, with 33 defendants convicted of various fraud and corruption offenses, while a federal jury failed to reach a verdict on charges brought against retired Rear Admiral Bruce Loveless.

Cutting the monitor immediately sent an alert to U.S. Pretrial Services, the federal agency in charge of monitoring his home confinement. Nevertheless, it was not until approximately 4 PM, or over 7 hours later, that members of the San Diego Fugitive Task Force went to Francis’ residence to locate him. Leonard Francis was long gone. 

According to media reports, neighbors witnessed U-Haul moving trucks outside Francis’ home in the days before his escape.

His current whereabouts are unknown. However, Francis’s home is only about a 40-minute drive from the Mexican border, where reportedly vehicles from the US are only stopped randomly as they enter Tijuana.

Six days after his escape, the U.S. Marshals Service and Naval Criminal Investigative Service offered a combined reward of up to $40,000 ($20,000 from each agency) for any information leading up to the arrest of the fugitive. 

After Fat Leonard’s escape, Craig Whitlock, an investigative reporter for The Washington Post, tweeted:

Hard to overstate what a colossal embarrassment this debacle is for Justice Dept, US Marshals and a federal judge who approved Fat Leonard’s dodgy home detention. How do you lose track of a 350-lb felon who has cancer and can barely walk?

When NCIS arrested Fat Leonard nine years ago in San Diego, the Justice Department argued against giving him bail. They predicted he would flee across the border to Tijuana and hop a flight or boat back to Malaysia. So they envisioned exactly what happened today.

Leonard is nothing if not clever. He could easily be on a flight over the Pacific now, if he hasn’t already landed back in Malaysia, where US extradition would be difficult.

Oh – almost forgot. When Leonard pleaded guilty to bribing scores of US Navy officers, he also promised to pay back $35 million that he defrauded from Uncle Sam. He paid $5 million up front, but still owes $30 million. So he may have gotten away with that too.

The Hill reports that from early 2018 until he fled, the judge in the case allowed Francis to live in a private home in San Diego due to his renal cancer; however, under the deal Francis, was responsible for paying for 24-hour security at his residence and was required to wear an ankle bracelet. It is unclear if guards were on duty in the days before Francis fled.

Tom Wright, the host of the nine-part “Fat Leonard” podcast on the scandal, said the latest development is “a huge black eye” for the U.S. government. This thing’s been a total mess for the Department of Justice and the Navy.”