Who is 'Fat Leonard' and how did he end up as part of the Venezuelan prisoner swap?

The U.S. freed a close ally of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in exchange for the release of 10 Americans imprisoned in the South American country and the return of fugitive defense contractor Leonard Francis known as "Fat Leonard." Francis is at the center of a massive Pentagon bribery scandal, the Biden administration announced Wednesday. (U.S. Marshals Service/via AP)

The notorious and once portly defense contractor known as "Fat Leonard," who scammed the U.S. Navy out of millions of dollars for more than a decade, is being extradited to the U.S. as part of a prisoner swap deal with Venezuela, the White House announced on Wednesday.

Leonard Glenn Francis, now 59, escaped from house arrest in San Diego in September 2022 after cutting off an ankle tracking bracelet shortly before a sentencing trial for his role behind one of the largest corruption scandals in the country's military history that ensnared more than two dozen U.S. Navy officials. But his life on the run was short lived. Francis was captured weeks later by authorities in Venezuela where he has remained in custody until now.