2 more indicted in massive US Navy bribery scandal

SAN DIEGO – Two former executives of a Singapore company that supplies ships have been indicted in a wide-spanning bribery scandal involving its CEO nicknamed “Fat Leonard” and high-ranking US Navy officials.

Former Glenn Defence Marine Asia executives Neil Peterson and Linda Raja in an indictment unsealed Wednesday are accused of submitting false claims totalling more than $5 million to the Navy.

The company’s CEO Leonard “Fat Leonard” Francis is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to bribing Navy officials with more than $500,000 in cash, prostitutes, luxury hotel stays and a staggering amount of others gifts in exchange for classified information.

Francis’ company — which has provided fuel, food and other services to Navy ships in Asia for two decades — overbilled the maritime branch by more than $34 million, according to court documents.

Peterson was the company’s vice-president for global operations, and Raja was its general manager for Singapore, Australia, and the Pacific Isles. The defendants were arrested in Singapore and are awaiting extradition to the United States. They could not be reached for comment.

In addition to the false claims, Peterson, 38, and Raja, 43, submitted false price quotes from non-existent companies on letterhead created from graphics cut and pasted from the Internet, according to court documents.

A total of 16 people have been charged in the case. Among them, 11 current or former U.S. Navy officials, including an admiral who pleaded guilty in June, becoming the first active-duty U.S. Navy flag officer convicted in federal court.