Prosecutors said that in exchange for contracts Francis plied navy officers with cash, gourmet food, expensive cigars, rare cognac and wild sex parties in fancy hotels.

Police were sent to his San Diego residence on Sunday after the agency monitoring his ankle bracelet reported a problem with the device, Castillo said.

How ‘Fat Leonard’ infiltrated the US Navy’s floating headquarters in Asia

“Upon arrival they noticed that nobody was home,” he said.

“They then notified US Marshals who went to the house and verified that he was no longer there. As of now multiple leads are being investigated.”

The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that the cut-off GPS bracelet was found in the house, while neighbours said they had seen U-Haul moving trucks coming and going at the property in the days leading up to his escape.

“He was planning this out, that’s for sure,” the newspaper quoted Castillo as saying.

Francis was arrested in 2013 and pleaded guilty two years later. He suffered numerous health problems, including kidney cancer, which led to him being released to house arrest in 2018 while acting as a cooperating witness for federal prosecutors.

He was set to be sentenced on September 22.

Four US Navy officers have been found guilty in the case so far, while another 29 people, including naval officials, contractors and Francis himself, have pleaded guilty, US media said.

The US Justice Department, which called the scheme a colossal fraud that cost the US Navy tens of millions of dollars, brought charges against more than 30 people, many of whom pleaded guilty or were convicted at trial.