1-28-2016 Vice Adm.
In addition to serving as chief of Navy intelligence, Branch holds the title of the Navy’s chief information officer, oversees the Navy’s 55,000-member Information Dominance Corps and is in charge of many cybersecurity programs.
Worried that Branch was on the verge of being indicted, Navy leaders suspended his access to classified materials. They did the same to one of his deputies, Rear Adm. Bruce F. Loveless, the Navy’s director of intelligence operations.
Several Navy officials were arrested, including a senior NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigation Service) agent who confessed to feeding inside information to Francis for years….
Prosecutors described in astonishing detail how Francis, based in Singapore, had bribed Navy officers with prostitutes, cash-stuffed envelopes, lavish hotel stays, spa treatments, and epicurean dinners featuring champagne, Cuban cigars, Kobe beef and Spanish suckling pigs….
A second source close to the investigation said that Branch met Francis 16 years ago, when Branch was the executive officer of the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis, and that the pair stayed in regular contact.
The source said Francis has also known Loveless for many years, dating to his deployments in Asia as an intelligence officer aboard the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk and as intelligence chief for the Navy’s 7th Fleet, based in Japan.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/01/27/the-admiral-in-charge-of-navy-intelligence-has-not-been-allowed-to-see-military-secrets-for-years/
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9-22-17 The Department of Justice will not prosecute Vice Adm. Ted Branch as part of the sprawling “Fat Leonard” corruption case and has subsequently cleared the name of the former chief of naval intelligence after three years of public suspicion, USNI News has learned.
Likewise, the Navy has closed its own internal investigation into possible service ethic violations that did not rise to the level of criminal behavior, U.S. Fleet Forces Command told USNI News on Friday. https://news.usni.org/2017/09/22/former-naval-intelligence-chief-ted-branch-cleared-fat-leonard-case
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Docs via Freedom of Information Act shed some light on the matter for the first time. The Navy stripped Branch’s name from the documents, but they contain other information that matches the admiral’s military service record. Branch declined to comment but confirmed that the files pertained to his case.
The heavily redacted documents indicate that Branch first met Francis in 2000 when serving as an officer aboard the USS John C. Stennis, an aircraft carrier. During a port visit to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Branch attended a dinner paid for by Francis’s firm, Glenn Defense Marine Asia, and improperly accepted a ceremonial dagger as a gift, according to the documents.
The Navy investigated allegations that Branch also attended a private party that evening hosted by Glenn Defense and that the contractor gave him drinks, “the services of a prostitute” and a Malaysian pewter tea set. In the end however the Navy concluded that there was “insufficient evidence” to prove that Branch was at the party with the prostitute or accepted the tea set.
Five years later, Branch and Francis met again. This time Branch was the commanding officer of another aircraft carrier, the USS Nimitz. As the ship prepared to visit Southeast Asia, he exchanged emails with Francis. The Navy refused to release the messages, but The Post obtained copies from other sources close to the investigation.
“You may not believe this, but I am no longer a California Red Wood,” Francis wrote in a May 17, 2005, email in which he offered to arrange dinner, drinks, and “a few rounds of great golf at the most scenic courses” in Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur. “I actually lost 300 pounds since we last met in 2000 but rest assured I’m still the same old fun loving Leonard you all know but only in a trimmer body!”
“Good to hear from you Leonard and congrats on losing the weight,” Branch replied. “We are looking forward to HK and KL. It will be good to see you.”
When the Nimitz arrived in Hong Kong two weeks later, Branch invited Francis on board the aircraft carrier for a private lunch. During the port visit, Francis returned the favor by hosting Branch and about 20 other officers from the Nimitz for a lavish dinner at a restaurant overlooking Hong Kong harbor. The meal cost about $690 per person and featured musical entertainment, Cohiba cigars, Château Lynch-Bages red wine and Rémy Martin cognac, according to a copy of the bill obtained by The Post.
After the Nimitz left port Branch transmitted an official communication from the ship known as a Bravo Zulu message, a Navy term meaning “well done.” Copied to several Navy headquarters, the message praised Francis and his company for their “outstanding” and “over the top customer service.”
The following month Branch and Francis met again when the Nimitz visited Kuala Lumpur. Once more Navy officials investigated allegations that Francis invited Branch to a private party with booze and prostitutes on July 5, 2005, but found “insufficient evidence” to prove that the officer attended the sex party, Navy documents show.
After the Nimitz departed Kuala Lumpur, Branch sent another Bravo Zulu message extolling Francis and his company. “True to form Leonard, you provided absolutely the highest quality service to my ship and crew,” Branch wrote. “Your commitment to the Navy and the professionalism you and your staff displayed is unmatched.”
Navy officials found that Branch accepted illicit gifts from Francis on other occasions, including a coffee-table book from Singapore and multiple gifts of cigars, according to the Navy documents.
Although the Navy cited Branch for four counts of misconduct, it does not appear that it imposed any penalties. In a Sept. 8, 2017, memo, Adm. Philip S. Davidson — the commander assigned by the Navy to hand out discipline in the “Fat Leonard” scandal — stated that he “personally addressed” the matter with Branch “through administrative action.”
That is language the Navy typically uses when counseling a sailor not to do something again. A Navy spokesman declined to comment. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2018/03/12/navy-intelligence-chief-took-lavish-meals-and-gifts-from-fat-leonard-but-cleared-of-consorting-with-prostitutes/
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4-26-21 Following his retirement from the Navy, Vice Admiral Branch served as Vice President, Navy and Marine Corps, for DXC Technology’s U.S. Public Sector. Now he is the senior vice president and general manager of the Navy and Marine Group for Perspecta, providing information technology services under the Next Generation Enterprise Network contract. He also serves on the board of directors of the Tailhook Educational Foundation and the National Capital Chapter of the U.S. Navy League, and on the board of trustees for the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation in Pensacola, Florida. https://apnews.com/article/navy-business-61bca74ecf4d9ce800dc69aea94809c3
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6-9-16
In a plea deal with prosecutors, Rear Adm. Robert Gilbeau, a special assistant to the chief of the Navy Supply Corps, admitted to concealing the duration and extent of his relationship with Leonard Glenn Francis, a Singapore-based defense contractor who showered Navy brass with prostitutes, cash and epicurean meals over a decade until his arrest in 2013.
Court papers show Gilbeau destroyed papers and computer files after Francis was arrested in an international sting operation and repeatedly minimized his contacts with the contractor when confronted by federal agents….Francis has admitted to bribing “scores” of Navy officials with millions of dollars (out of the more than $20 million he cheated the USN out of via contract overcharging.)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/navy-admiral-to-plead-guilty-in-fat-leonard-corruption-scandal/2016/06/09/6955e5ec-2e4e-11e6-9de3-6e6e7a14000c_story.html?utm_term=.4b55e1dafc9a
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3-15-17 Nine current and former military officers accused of having a raging $50,000 party with prostitutes as part of a massive bribery scandal refereed to themselves as 'the Cool Kids' and 'the Wolfpack'. The Justice Department said the alleged lewd behavior is part of huge bribery case known as 'Fat Leonard', where tens of millions of dollars was swindled from the US military.
The officials involved, including: Rear Admiral Bruce Loveless, Captain Donald Hornbeck, Captain David Lausman, Marine Colonel Enrico de Guzman, warrant officer Robert Gorsuch, Captain James Dolan and Commander Stephen Shedd, referred to themselves as the Lion King's Harem, the Wolfpack, the Cool Kids and the Brotherhood.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4314394/Eight-Navy-officers-accused-Fat-Leonard-scandal.html 
-Rear-Adm. Loveless
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January 2018: Chinese hackers infiltrated a U.S. Navy contractor working for the Naval Undersea Warfare Center. 614 gigabytes of material related to a supersonic anti-ship missile for use on U.S. submarines were taken, along with submarine radio room information related to cryptographic systems and the Navy submarine development unit’s electronic warfare library.
China hacked sensitive U.S. Navy undersea warfare plans: Washington Post
By Reuters Staff
3 MIN READ
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Chinese government hackers compromised the computers of a U.S. Navy contractor and stole a large amount of highly sensitive data on undersea warfare, including plans for a supersonic anti-ship missile for use on U.S. submarines, the Washington Post reported on Friday, citing unnamed U.S. officials.
The breaches took place in January and February, the officials told the Post, speaking on condition of anonymity about an ongoing investigation led by the Navy and assisted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The FBI did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
“Per federal regulations, there are measures in place that require companies to notify the government when a ‘cyber incident’ has occurred that has actual or potential adverse effects on their networks that contain controlled unclassified information. It would be inappropriate to discuss further details at this time,” the U.S. Navy said in response to a query from Reuters.
The Chinese Embassy knows nothing about the reported hacking, an embassy spokesperson told Reuters in an email, adding that the Chinese government “staunchly upholds cyber security, firmly opposes and combats all forms of cyber attacks in accordance with law.”
The hackers targeted a contractor who works for the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, a military entity based in Newport, Rhode Island, the unnamed officials said without identifying the contractor, according to the Post.
The hacked material comprised 614 gigabytes relating to a project known as Sea Dragon, as well as signals and sensor data, submarine radio room information relating to cryptographic systems and the Navy submarine development unit’s electronic warfare library, the Post reported.
The newspaper said it had agreed to withhold some details about the compromised missile project after the Navy said their release could harm national security.
The data stolen was of a highly sensitive nature despite being housed on the contractor’s unclassified network, the Post said, citing the officials. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-cyber/china-hacked-sensitive-us-navy-undersea-warfare-plans-washington-post-idUSKCN1J42MM
April 2018: Yanjun Xu, an MSS operative, attempted to recruit experts employed by leading American aviation companies to China, often under the guise of giving a presentation at a university.
April 2018: A cyber espionage campaign originating in China collected data from satellite, telecom, and defense organizations in the United States and Southeast Asia.
June 2018: Ron Rockwell Hansen, a former DIA officer, attempted to transmit national defense information to China.
July 2018: Xiaqing Zhang conspired to steal trade secret information from General Electric for the benefit of China.
July 2018: Xiaolang Zhang was arrested for stealing trade secret information about the circuit board of Apple’s self-driving car initiative. The case is still active as of August 2019.
September 2018: Chinese hackers breached the systems of the Starwood hotel chain in 2014. It is estimated that the personal information of up to 500 million people was stolen.
September 2018: Ji Chaoqun, a Chinese citizen residing in Chicago, worked at the behest of the Jiangsu Province Ministry of State Security (JSSD) to get biographical information on eight Chinese nationals working as engineers and scientists in the United States that the JSSD had targeted for recruitment. Some worked for U.S. defense contractors.
November 2018: Chen Zhengkun, He Jianting, and Wang Yungming stole Micron trade secrets related to dynamic random-access memory technology (DRAM) for the benefit of China.
November 2018: Beginning in March 2017, U.S. citizen Xiaorong You and Chinese national Liu Xiangchen conspired to steal trade secrets worth more than $100 million related to the development of BPA-free coatings. You stole trade secrets from the two American companies that employed her and provided them to Liu, whose company used them to create products that would compete with the two American companies in question.
December 2018: A Chinese national, Hongjin Tan, was arrested for stealing trade secret information from an American petroleum company, Phillips 66, and conspiring to use to benefit a Chinese firm.
December 2018: Chinese hackers stole IP and confidential business and technological information from managed service providers – companies that manage IT infrastructure for other businesses and governments.
December 2018: Chinese hackers stole hundreds of gigabytes of data from computers of more than 45 technology companies and U.S. government agencies. The defendants also stole names, SSNs, DOBs, salary info, phone numbers, and email addresses of more than 100,000 U.S. Navy personnel.
January 2019: A Chinese national, Jizhong Chen, stole trade secret information about autonomous vehicles from Apple to benefit a competing Chinese firm.
March 2019: Beginning in April 2017, Chinese hackers stole research from universities about maritime technology being developed for military use.
March 2019: Chinese hackers targeted Israeli defense firms that had connections to the U.S. military.
April 2019: Chinese hackers stole General Electric’s trade secrets concerning jet engine turbine technologies. https://www.csis.org/programs/technology-policy-program/survey-chinese-linked-espionage-united-states-2000
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