When a Navy official asked to take a second look at invoices submitted by contractor “Fat” Leonard Francis for services his company performed during a ship visit to Hong Kong, the request was quickly thwarted.

The admonishment sent to the official by supervising civilian Navy contract specialist Paul Simpkins was sharp: “Do not request any invoices from the ship … do not violate this instruction. Contact the ship and rescind your request.”

The rebuke was just one example of how Simpkins used the power of his position to protect Francis from the Navy’s scrutiny, allowing the Singapore-based contractor to continue his years-long fraud scheme that cost taxpayers at least $35 million in overbilling to the military.

For his efforts, Simpkins was paid more than $350,000 in cash bribes, as well as luxury travel, entertainment expenses and the services of prostitutes.


Simpkins, 62, was sentenced in San Diego federal court Friday to six years in prison. Not only is he the highest ranking civilian charged in connection with Francis’ fraud and bribery network, he also has the distinction of receiving the most amount of cash than any of the other 11 Navy officials prosecuted.

“You were somewhat premeditated and extraordinarily thoughtful,” U.S. District Judge Janis Sammartino said of the conduct, noting Simpkins tried to disguise the bribes as a real estate investment and diverted them to his wife’s bank account.

“You clearly knew what you were doing,” Sammartino said. “Conduct like that destroys the public’s confidence in its military and government.”

Simpkins is the latest in a long line of Navy-connected personnel, many of them high-ranking officers, to go to prison for their willingness to assist Francis’ Southeast Asia business empire in exchange for bribes.


Francis groomed many of the Navy officials who ended up in his fold, wining and dining them at his lavish parties aboard his yacht and in exotic hotels. He pulled them in with offers of friendship and wild fun.

Not so much with Simpkins. Their deal struck a more businesslike tone — a deal prosecutors say Simpkins fiercely negotiated.

In 2006, Simpkins was a supervisory contract specialist in Singapore for the Navy, someone with enormous power over how contracts were administered, and a lucrative contract was coming up to provide husbanding services for ships visiting Thailand. Francis’ company, Glenn Defense Marine Asia, or GDMA, provided such services, such as food, water, security and waste removal.

Both men realized they could help one another and met several times in the lobby of the Amara Hotel in Singapore to work out a deal: Francis would pay Simpkins bribes, and Simpkins would use his influence to steer the contract his way, prosecutors said.


Simpkins officially recommended Francis for the contract, and he got it. The Navy would end up paying $7.1 million on it, of which millions were fraudulent, prosecutors said.

The first bribe was an envelope stuffed with $50,000, exchanged at a meeting at the hotel, according to the complaint. Cash also started flowing into Simpkins’ bank accounts.

To hide the source of the funds, Simpkins impersonated his mistress (a scientist whom he later married) and wrote Francis emails, saying there was an opportunity to invest in an apartment building in Japan and a Subway sandwich franchise, and instructed Francis to deposit the money in the bank account of Simpkins’ then-wife.

Simpkins also received other perks, at one time asking Francis for “clean, disease free” women.


Francis replied, “Honeys and bunnys,” the email states.

Simpkins remained useful to Francis.

In December 2006, a Navy lieutenant recommended reopening the competitive bidding process on Francis’ Thailand contract, pointing to “far too many exceedingly high cost” items and suggesting the Navy “drive prices down in the best interest of the U.S. Government,” according to the report.

Simpkins wrote a memo overruling the recommendation.


“That contract provided GDMA the vehicle to commit fraud,” said Brian Young, assistant chief of the U.S. Department of Justice’s criminal division’s fraud section.

In January 2007, in what prosecutors described as “perhaps his foulest act,” Simpkins directed a Navy official to stop using flow meters that measured the amount of liquid waste that GDMA was removing from Navy ships, allowing GDMA to inflate the amount removed and therefore the price of the service.

When Simpkins left his position in Singapore for the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys, he promised to continue to look out for Francis.

“The job is at the Justice Department where all the Pentagon Lawyers work at. I could be beneficial from there as well in terms of law and litigation when the right time comes,” Simpkins wrote in an email, according to court documents.


Simpkins had retired in 2012 by the time investigators came knocking. He was arrested in February 2015 at his home in Virginia and pleaded guilty this past June to conspiracy and bribery charges. He has remained in custody without bail.

He has paid $300,000 in restitution so far and owes another $150,000. He also will have to pay a $50,000 fine ordered by the court.

Defense lawyer John Lemon argued for a lower sentence of five years, noting the conduct occurred 10 years ago and that it was not as serious as that of some of the other Navy officials who admitted passing confidential military documents to Francis.

He pointed to how Simpkins overcame growing up black in the Deep South during the civil-rights movement, experiencing racism and poverty, to go on to earn a master’s degree from the University of Oklahoma and serve in the Air Force for 21 years.


He has a 2-year-old son, who has been living in Thailand with his surrogate mother. His wife is in China caring for her ailing mother.

Simpkins apologized to the judge for his role in the case.

“I grew up without a father. I don’t want my son to grow up without a father,” he told the judge, his voice cracking. He said there was no guarantee, with his many health problems and at his age, that he’d survive prison.

He explained in a letter that he wants to start a nonprofit when he is released from custody to help older inmates transition out of prison.


“I can’t change the past,” he told the judge. “Ten years ago I made a bad decision. I guess I’m paying the price today.”

Five GDMA executives, including Francis, have also been charged. Francis has pleaded guilty and is apparently cooperating with the ongoing investigation. Sentencing dates for him have continued to get pushed.

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kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @kristinadavis