The Latest: Navy admiral pleads guilty to lying to feds

SAN DIEGO – The Latest on a Navy bribery scandal that bilked the Navy out of $34 million (all times local):

6:05 p.m.

A Navy admiral on Thursday pleaded guilty to lying to federal authorities investigating a $34 million fraud scheme involving a Malaysian contractor known as “Fat Leonard.”

Rear Adm. Robert Gilbeau is the highest-ranking military official to be taken down in the wide-spanning scandal. He is also believed to be the first active-duty Naval flag officer to be charged in federal court.

Gilbeau declined to comment after the hearing.

Prosecutors say Gilbeau lied about accepting gifts from Leonard Glenn Francis. Francis has admitted to bribing Navy officials with more than $500,000 in cash, prostitutes, and others gifts in exchange for classified information to help his company, Glenn Defence Marine Asia.

Prosecutors say the company overbilled the Navy by $34 million.

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1:30 p.m.

A lawyer says a Navy admiral will plead guilty to lying in a probe of a bribery scandal that bilked the Navy out of $34 million.

Defence attorney David Benowitz says his client, Rear Adm. Robert Gilbeau, plans to enter his plea at a federal court hearing in San Diego on Thursday.

Gilbeau is the highest-ranking military official to be brought down in the wide-spanning case centred on a Malaysian contractor known as “Fat Leonard.”

He has been charged with lying to investigators, but not with accepting bribes like other Navy officers in the case.

Three Navy admirals have been censured for accepting gifts and dinners that cost thousands of dollars from the contractor, who was convicted of bribing officials to get classified information used to overcharge the Navy.