A Cambodia-born U.S. Navy commander arrested in September 2013 on charges of conspiracy to commit bribery was indicted by a U.S. federal court Tuesday on seven more counts of bribery, according to a statement from the U.S. Justice Department.
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California charged Michael Vannak Khem Misiewicz, 47, with giving classified U.S. Navy ship schedules and information to Leonard Glenn Francis, the statement says.
Mr. Francis—the CEO of a Singapore-based company that caters to navy ships when they dock at ports—bribed Mr. Misiewicz for the information, according to the court. “Francis allegedly gave him things of value such as cash, travel and entertainment expenses, and the services of prostitutes,” the statement says.
Francis then used the information to overcharge the U.S. Navy by at least $20 million for supplies and services, according to a March statement from the U.S. district attorney’s office in San Diego.
In 2010, Mr. Misiewicz’s story of going from war-torn Cambodia in 1973 to commanding a U.S. Navy ship was widely celebrated by local and U.S. media.
Mr. Misiewicz pleaded not guilty to the charges on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.
