PHUKET: A US sailor has pleaded to guilty to playing a part in a scheme that allegedly led to $20 million being scammed from the US Navy through inflated charges.
The petty officer admitted accepting $10,000 in cash, electronics and travel expenses in exchange for classified information in a U.S. probe of bribery involving Singapore-based Glenn Defense Marine.
Navy logistics specialist Dan Layug faces up to five years and a fine of $250,000 when he comes up for sentencing in September, Bloomberg reported. He is the sixth defendant charged and the third to plead guilty.
Phuket was a popular port for scams, the investigation has revealed, because of the ease with which invoices could be inflated there.
''Every service member is entrusted with the enormous responsibility of protecting this country at all costs,'' Laura Duffy, US Attorney for the Southern District of California, told Bloomberg.
''Because of greed, Daniel Layug fell woefully short of that high calling, and this guilty plea holds him accountable for a painful betrayal,'' she added.
In a plea deal, he admitted to receiving $1000 monthly in cash, various electronic gadgets, and luxury hotel stays for himself and others in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Thailand.
''What are the chances of getting the new iPad 3? Please let me know,'' Layug emailed to his GDMA contact, to whom he also gave a ''bucket list'' of gadgets he wanted including ''a high end camera, an iPhone5 cellular phone, a Samsung S4 cellular phone, and an iPad Mini.''
''The camera is awesome bro! Thanks a lot! Been a while since I had a new gadget!'' he wrote after receiving the goods.
Leonard Glenn Francis, the Glenn Defense chief executive officer, is charged with providing gifts and prostitutes to two Navy commanders as part of the scheme.
The company has contracted with the US Navy for 25 years, providing hundreds of millions of dollars in goods and services for American ships in at least a dozen countries in Asia, according to court filings.
Details of the part played by Phuket in the scheme have yet to be revealed.
The petty officer admitted accepting $10,000 in cash, electronics and travel expenses in exchange for classified information in a U.S. probe of bribery involving Singapore-based Glenn Defense Marine.
Navy logistics specialist Dan Layug faces up to five years and a fine of $250,000 when he comes up for sentencing in September, Bloomberg reported. He is the sixth defendant charged and the third to plead guilty.
Phuket was a popular port for scams, the investigation has revealed, because of the ease with which invoices could be inflated there.
''Every service member is entrusted with the enormous responsibility of protecting this country at all costs,'' Laura Duffy, US Attorney for the Southern District of California, told Bloomberg.
''Because of greed, Daniel Layug fell woefully short of that high calling, and this guilty plea holds him accountable for a painful betrayal,'' she added.
In a plea deal, he admitted to receiving $1000 monthly in cash, various electronic gadgets, and luxury hotel stays for himself and others in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Thailand.
''What are the chances of getting the new iPad 3? Please let me know,'' Layug emailed to his GDMA contact, to whom he also gave a ''bucket list'' of gadgets he wanted including ''a high end camera, an iPhone5 cellular phone, a Samsung S4 cellular phone, and an iPad Mini.''
''The camera is awesome bro! Thanks a lot! Been a while since I had a new gadget!'' he wrote after receiving the goods.
Leonard Glenn Francis, the Glenn Defense chief executive officer, is charged with providing gifts and prostitutes to two Navy commanders as part of the scheme.
The company has contracted with the US Navy for 25 years, providing hundreds of millions of dollars in goods and services for American ships in at least a dozen countries in Asia, according to court filings.
Details of the part played by Phuket in the scheme have yet to be revealed.
