Enrico DeGuzman, Bribery, California 2022

San Diego Marine Corps Colonel Charged in International Navy Bribery Scandal

A high-ranking Marine Corps officer has been held accountable for his role in a massive Navy bribery and fraud scandal that has rocked the U.S. Navy. On [date], U.S. Marine Corps Colonel Enrico DeGuzman pleaded guilty to a bribery charge, admitting to accepting more than $67,000 in lavish gifts and services from a foreign defense contractor.

The lavish gifts and services included extravagant meals, drinks, entertainment, and hotel stays in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Tokyo. According to court documents, DeGuzman accepted these gifts in exchange for using his official position to assist the contractor, Leonard Glenn Francis, who owned and operated Singapore-based Glenn Defense Marine Asia, a ship husbanding company that serviced U.S. Navy ships in the Asia Pacific region.

In one instance, DeGuzman joined Francis and others for a $40,000 meal that featured foie gras terrine, duck leg confit, ox-tail soup, and roasted Chilean sea bass, paired with expensive wine and champagne, followed by digestifs, cigars, and overnight stays at the Shangri La – all at Francis’s expense.

DeGuzman was one of nine members of the U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2017 for conspiring with Francis and for receiving bribes. DeGuzman is the second of the Seventh Fleet defendants to plead guilty. The trial of the remaining defendants was scheduled to begin November 1, 2021, but it was postponed until February 7, 2022.

The overarching fraud and bribery case has resulted in federal criminal charges against 34 U.S. Navy officials, defense contractors, and the GDMA corporation. So far, 27 of those have pleaded guilty, admitting collectively that they accepted millions of dollars in luxury travel and accommodations, meals, or services of prostitutes, among many other things of value, from Francis in exchange for helping GDMA win and maintain contracts and overbill the Navy by over $35 million.

DeGuzman served on the Seventh Fleet Staff as the Fleet Marine Officer from July 2004 to July 2007 and in a civilian capacity as the Deputy Chief of Staff of Operations for U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific.

“With every extravagant meal, Enrico DeGuzman violated his duty to serve the United States with honor and integrity,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “Today those choices have caught up to him, and he has been held accountable.”

Mandatory Facts:

Defendant: U.S. Marine Corps Colonel Enrico DeGuzman

Criminal Charges: Bribery

City and State: San Diego, California

Date: [date]

Sentence: Currently pending

Dollar Amount: Over $67,000

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