During a multi-day session in 2008 at the presidential suite of the Shangri-La in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, room and alcohol charges exceeded $50,000, according to US Justice Department records. Investigators are now checking whether the moving trucks seen at the property where he lived show up on license plate readers at the US-Mexico border. Francis, an upbeat character who ran his contracting company from Singapore, was initially arrested in a San Diego hotel room in 2013 as part of a federal sting. After a stint in prison, he has been allowed to await trial under house arrest in his sprawling multi-million dollar home since 2018 after suffering from multiple health problems, including kidney cancer.
He worked as a cooperating witness
He worked as a cooperating witness for federal prosecutors as they built cases against other suspects, including several high-ranking naval officers. Dozens of navy officials have been caught up in the scandal, with four officers convicted earlier this year. Twenty-nine others, including contractors and navy officials, have pleaded guilty so far, US media reported. The case has been embarrassing for the US navy at a time when Washington and its allies are boosting their regional presence in the Indo-Pacific to counter Chinese military influence. Francis told his story in incredible detail to journalist Tom Wright in a nine-part secretly recorded podcast series last year, which also raised questions about the wider security implications of the scandal and concerns that highly sensitive information could have been leaked. . Earlier this year, the US Navy told The Telegraph it would be “inappropriate to comment” on those concerns “due to the ongoing nature of this investigation”, but a spokesman said changes had been made to the capture contract process and enhanced ethics and transparency.
