"Fat Leonard" Bribery Trial Win by EGC After Court Dismisses Case Against Client Post-Trial

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A federal district court dismissed all charges against Rear Admiral Bruce Loveless in the "Fat Leonard" bribery and corruption case after federal prosecutors opted not to retry him after a four-month jury trial ended in mistrial for Rear Admiral Loveless, the sole defendant who was not convicted out of the 34 defendants charged by the United States Department of Justice. The remaining four out of five defendants who went to trial with Rear Admiral Loveless were convicted on all charges on June 29, 2022. The so-called "Fat Leonard" case has been widely described as the largest corruption scandal in United States Navy history.

Partners Thomas P. O'Brien and Ivy A. Wang of Ellis George Cipollone O'Brien Annaguey LLP (EGC) tried this case alongside partner Daniel Prince and other attorneys from Paul Hastings LLP. 

"We are pleased that the charges against Rear Admiral Loveless have now been dismissed following the jury mistrial in June, and the multi-year nightmare for our client is finally over," stated O'Brien. "This is absolutely the correct result based on the complete lack of evidence of criminal wrongdoing presented during the four-month long trial."

The jury trial, which was one of the longest federal criminal jury trials in the history of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, has recently resurfaced in the news following media reports that foreign military contractor Leonard Glenn "Fat Leonard" Francis escaped house arrest and is currently on the run. An international search for the fugitive is ongoing.

This was O'Brien and Wang's second significant federal white-collar trial victory in less than a year. In December 2021, O'Brien and Wang successfully acquitted Dr. Mirali Zarrabi on all counts after a three-month federal jury trial regarding a $355 million insurance fraud scheme in the 1-800-GET-THIN Lap-Band surgery business. The two other defendants in that case were convicted on all counts.

EGC is recognized as one of the top litigation and trial firms in the country, with offices in Century City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, and Washington, D.C. Whether plaintiff or defendant, individual, Fortune 500 corporation or entrepreneur, clients call upon EGC when seeking litigation counsel of the highest quality, creativity, dedication, and ethics.

SOURCE Ellis George Cipollone O'Brien Annaguey LLP