Leonard Francis The Man Charged For Defrauding of the US Navy

Leonard ‘Santa Claus’ Francis defrauding the US Navy

Singapore-based businessman Leonard Glenn Francis has been reported to own a sprawling 70,000 sq ft Nassim Road bungalow, which has become famous for its extravagant Christmas light-ups.

But his next home could be a jail in the United States, where the 58-year-old Malaysian father of five was charged last month with defrauding the US Navy in a case involving hundreds of millions of dollars in government contracts.

Part of the plot allegedly involved bribing a US Navy commander (Michael Misiewicz) and a special agent (John Beliveau) with luxury travel and women in exchange for classified information that allowed Francis to profit from his business dealings with the US Navy.

Leonard Francis has reportedly been living in Singapore for more than 30 yearsdespite still being a Malaysian citizen. Last Christmas, the self-proclaimed ‘Santa Claus’ and Catholic adorned his Nassim bungalow with reindeers, a gigantic Xmas tree, even a nativity scene complete with manger. Who would have thought that this lavish spectacle (possibly costing at least $100,000) may have been made possible by ‘gifts’ of a totally different nature, among which include Lady Gaga concert tickets and what he called his ‘Elite Thai Seal team’, or prostitutes. When asked about the expenses, he replied ‘ You can’t put a value on happiness’. Not so for pleasure, it seems.

Francis started draping his residence in the Xmas spirit back in 2007, when he was atCluny Road and already renown then as among Singapore’s ‘most ardent Christmas decorators’. An assistant was given a budget of $25K then to make Francis’ house shine as bright as Orchard Road, drawing complaints from those who saw the gesture as unnecessarily extravagant and felt that the money splurged on giant snowmen and Baby Jesuses should have gone into more charitable causes. The lighting even caused a minor traffic jam when cars slowed down just to gaze in awe at the audacious splendour of it all (Ironically, Francis himself has also complained to the Traffic Police about rows of parked heavy vehicles along Nassim Road). If he hadn’t been caught, this year’s light-up could have been bigger, better and brighter, maybe even with actual falling snow or a ship dressed up like Noah’s Ark sponsored by the US Navy, with Kai Kai and Jia Jia in it.

Francis’ arrest is a sigh of relief for Nassim neighbours who couldn’t sleep because of his annoying flashing extravaganza. In the video below taken of the house from a vehicle, someone quipped that he ‘basically baokaliao the sidewalk’ and questioned if decorating the place like it’s your grandfather’s road was even legal. Even if it were illegal, I doubt the authorities would go all Scrooge over it, especially on rich folks’ property.

In late 2012, just as Francis was getting ready to receive Father Christmas, his military contractor company Glenn Defence Marine Asia was charged for dumping hazardous waste in Subic Bay, Philippines, which dwarves the environmental burden of over-the-top Xmas lighting.  Of course that didn’t stop Singapore’s Mr Xmas himself from turning Nassim Road into a Winter Wonderland in a bid to out-Christmas Orchard Road, while at the same time sending ‘Not Safe For Xmas’ pics of Thai hookers to his partners in crime.  If found guilty of duping the US Navy and overcharging ‘pearl ports’, Francis may spend the next few Christmases decking prison bars with snow made out of wet toilet paper balls instead. No sheep in the manger for this conman in a slammer.

Navy Commander, NCIS Agent and Singapore Businessman Charged in Bribery Scheme

Prosecutors say the company's CEO bribed two members of the Navy with travel and prostitutes for very lucrative contracts

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In this handout image provided by U.S. Navy, USS Essex (LHD 2) gets underway off the coast of Sepangar, Malaysia - one of the locations considered a "Pearl Port" prosecutors allege.

A U.S. Navy commander, an NCIS Special agent and a Singapore businessman have been charged in what prosecutors call a worldwide bribery scheme involving hundreds of millions of dollars in defense contracts.

The case involves a multinational company that supplies Navy ships with food, water and waste services when they dock at countries in Asia.

Leonard Francis, CEO of the Singapore-based Glenn Defense Marine Asia Ltd., was arrested in San Diego Monday and appeared in San Diego Federal Court Tuesday on charges in two separate bribery investigations.

Francis, 58, allegedly bribed U.S. Navy Commander Mike Misiewicz, 46, to redirect U.S. Navy vessels to ports his company would benefit from, according to court documents obtained by NBC 7 News. He then allegedly bribed NCIS Special Agent John Beliveau, 36, to gain confidential information in a fraud investigation, the documents say. All three have been charged with conspiring to commit bribery, which carries a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison.

Misiewicz was commander of USS Mustin from June 2010 to January 2011 when he was transferred to serve on USS Blue Ridge as Deputy Operations Officer. In the latter position, Misiewicz had influence over operations for ships in the Seventh Fleet or any ship traveling through the area.

Prosecutors allege that Misiewicz diverted U.S. Navy ships to ports in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia instead of docking at ports in Singapore and the Philippines, which would make less money for Francis and his company, which provides tugboats, security, 

provisions, trash removal, refueling and other services for vessels.

Federal court documents state that between 2011 to 2012, Francis offered prostitutes and luxury travel for Misiewicz who he called “Little Brother” and his family members in exchange for diverting the ships, including the nuclear aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis.

Court documents show the travel included several trips to Cambodia in 2011 and 2012, luxury hotel accommodations and airline tickets for family members to attend a wedding in Cambodia in December 2011.

In early 2012, Misiewicz is accused of sending a confidential list of schedules for various Navy vessels to Francis on three separate occasions using a private Gmail account.

After several months of negotiating, the USS John C. Stennis visited one of the ports Francis requested in September 2012 costing the U.S. Navy $2.7 million - a figure that's well above the $1.36 million average offered by two other aircraft carrier ports, prosecutors said.

Francis is also accused of providing travel, hotel and plane tickets as well as prostitutes to Beliveau who appeared in Virginia court to face charges Tuesday.

Prosecutors say the gifts were in exchange for documents from 2011 to 2013, regarding a fraud investigation into Glenn Defense Marine Asia.

One of the trips allegedly included a three-week tour through five countries in Asia in December 2012.

Emails between the escort and Francis show he paid for three days’ time and airfare according to court documents.

The complaint alleges that in return, Beliveau helped Francis craft a response to an NCIS inquiry and even searched an internal computer database several times for details on the investigation.

Once he was transferred to Quantico, Beliveau emailed Francis, “I will always be your friend but you will get nothing else until I get what you promised,” documents show.

The complaint shows Beliveau went on to write, “I can be your best friend or your worst enemy… I am not an amateur.”

Misiewicz, who was on the verge of being promoted to Captain, was arrested in Colorado.

Robert Huie, one of the Asst. U.S. Attorneys prosecuting the case says it's possible that Misiewicz and Beliveau will be back in San Diego for Federal court hearings on Sept. 30.