Fat Leonard Cost the U.S. Navy More Than Money

Malaysian national Leonard Francis, better known as “Fat Leonard,” is back in the news nine years after his original arrest for defrauding the U.S. Navy of around $35 million between 2006 and 2013. Caught in Venezuela last month boarding a flight to Russia two weeks after absconding from his loosely supervised house arrest in San Diego, Francis remains an albatross around the U.S. Navy’s neck. While his actions hurt the Navy, the service’s own response has done perhaps more long-term harm to the organization than Francis himself.