Finding ‘Fat Leonard’ and more

Finding ‘Fat Leonard’

In September, authorities apprehended Leonard Francis, aka “Fat Leonard,” the notorious defense contractor convicted in 2015 of bribing high-ranking U.S. Naval officers, just two weeks after he had escaped house arrest in San Diego, California. 

Francis had made his getaway by cutting off his ankle monitor before officials arrived to find an empty house and no guard. Law enforcement later nabbed Francis in Venezuela as he boarded a flight to Russia. 

Francis, who was being treated for renal cancer, agreed to pay for 24-hour security and wear an ankle bracelet under house arrest while helping prosecutors convict others involved in the corruption case that cost the Navy $35 million. (See “Fat Leonard: Malaysian criminal in US Navy scandal recaptured after jail break,” by Frances Mao, BBC News, Sept. 22, 2022.)

No Room for Fraud

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), along with six U.S. states, over the summer filed a lawsuit against rental-listing site Roomster Corp. and its owners for allegedly deceiving apartment seekers with fake reviews of rentals and listings. 

According to the FTC, Roomster’s owners bilked largely low-income and student renters out of tens of millions of dollars with fake five-star and four-star reviews to counteract negative reviews from actual customers. The FTC also says Roomster published fictional apartment listings to lure paid users.

In a separate filing, the FTC ordered Jonathan Martinez, who allegedly sold the fake reviews to Roomster, to pay $100,000, notify the app stores where he created them and cooperate with the FTC in its case against the company. (See “FTC, States Sue Rental Listing Platform Roomster and its Owners for Duping Prospective Renters with Fake Reviews and Phony Listings,” FTC, press release, Aug. 30, 2022.)

Chinese Authorities Arrest Hundreds Tied to Rural Banking Scandal

In August, Chinese police arrested 234 people connected to a criminal gang responsible for a banking scandal that’s gripped the country for months and sparked mass protests over the freezing of hundreds of thousands of accounts.

In what is being described as China’s biggest-ever bank fraud probe, police have accused a criminal gang that controlled four rural banks in Henan province of illegally siphoning off depositors’ savings. Hundreds of thousands of depositors were lured to the banks with annual returns as high as 18%, but earlier this year found they were unable to withdraw funds.

In July, more than 1,000 depositors gathered in protest outside the Zhengzhou branch of China’s central bank. According to CNN, the protests turned violent when police forcefully dispersed demonstrators. Financial regulators in China have agreed to refund depositors with frozen accounts and have started to disperse funds. (See “China arrests hundreds in rural banking scandal,” by Nectar Gan, CNN, Aug. 30, 2022 and “Intimidation, crackdowns blow the lid off Chinese rural banking scandal,” by Sebastian Seibt, France24, July 14, 2022.)