Americas News
Another Guilty Plea in GDMA Scandal
Another U.S. Navy sailor has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA) fraud and bribery case, according to the Star and Stripes newspaper, which covers the U.S. military.
Petty Officer 1st Class Dan Layug pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery in San Diego, California federal court after prosecutors agreed to drop additional bribery charges.
Layug admitted he accepted money, travel perks, and electronics to provide GDMA with ship schedules and other information.
Working from Yokosuka, Japan, the officer helped arrange for Navy fuel and supply purchases at ports where GDMA overbilled by millions of dollars, and he gave the supply company information on competitor bids.
GDMA paid him $1,000 each month and gave him cameras, computers, and other equipment.
Layug is scheduled for sentencing on Sept. 2 and faces up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines.
Layug is the second Navy official to plead guilty, following Naval Criminal Investigative Service supervisory special agent John Bertrand Beliveau II, who admitted to his involvement in the scandal in December.
Alex Wisidagama of GDMA also pleaded guilty to a bribery charge in March.
The company's owner, Leonard Glenn Francis was arrested last year but pleaded not guilty, as have two Navy commanders, Cmdr. Michael Vannak Khem Misiewicz and Cmdr. Jose Luis Sanchez.
Prosecutors have estimated the financial damage from the fraud and bribery at more than $20 million.
