COVID PPE Fraudster Jailed as Court Hears How Fake Glove Deals Funded Luxury Lifestyle

A man who helped orchestrate a multi-million pound fraud that exploited the desperate global shortage of personal protective equipment during the Covid-19 pandemic has been jailed for three years and nine months.

Craig Morris, 43, was sentenced at Northampton Crown Court on Wednesday after being convicted of two counts of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation, along with concealing and transferring criminal property. The convictions followed a trial at Leicester Crown Court in July.

Morris, of Forest Drive in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, was one of three people convicted over a scheme that saw medical supply companies in the United States and Germany tricked into paying for nitrile gloves that never existed.

The court heard that Morris worked alongside Jogesh Bhandari, 60, of Mitchell Drive, Loughborough, Leicestershire, who prosecutors described as the architect of the operation. The pair posed as major players in the PPE market during a period when healthcare providers around the world were scrambling for protective gear.

Prosecutor Michael Bisgrove told the court that the offences took place "during the Covid-19 pandemic at a time when there was a desperate shortage of personal protective equipment." He said the fraudsters spotted an opportunity in that shortage to make money through deception.

The court heard that Bhandari and Morris conducted their fraudulent deals under a company called Banton. They sent contracts to their victims for equipment they did not possess and had no means of supplying, while presenting themselves as capable of handling enormous orders of nitrile gloves.

Two companies were specifically targeted: Med18, based in the United States, and MedTech, a German firm. Both were persuaded to part with substantial sums after being led to believe they were securing large consignments of gloves at a time when such supplies were scarce and highly prized.

Bisgrove told the court: "In the course of the fraud, they took millions of pounds which they used for their own benefit to buy cars, luxury goods and property." The proceeds were not merely pocketed, but translated into visible displays of wealth including high-end vehicles and holidays.

The court heard that Bhandari also used money obtained through the fraud to pay off family debt, while Morris used funds to purchase a house. A photograph released by the National Crime Agency showed Bhandari with a red Porsche, one of the luxury cars acquired by the fraudsters.

Morris had been receiving regular payments of £5,000 from Bhandari before the two men fell out at the end of 2021, the National Crime Agency said previously. The total value of money Bhandari obtained and retained through the fraud amounted to £1.75 million, the court was told.

Bhandari's wife, Meenakashi Bhandari, 58, a former pharmacist also of Mitchell Drive, was found guilty of concealing and transferring criminal property. She was accused of laundering money to the value of £960,000. She attended the sentencing hearing, unlike her husband, and received a two-year prison sentence suspended for two years, along with 250 hours of unpaid work and 15 days of rehabilitation activity.

Jogesh Bhandari did not attend the hearing. His counsel told the court he was taking a "very extreme painkiller" after having a pacemaker fitted the previous week and was unable to travel to Northampton. Judge William Harbage KC said there was "no medical evidence" to properly explain his absence and confirmed that a bench warrant would be issued. Bhandari is expected to be sentenced on 16 October.

In sentencing remarks directed at Morris and Meenakashi Bhandari, Judge Harbage said the pandemic was a time when "all of us had to make sacrifices and pull together for the good of society as a whole." He added: "There were a few people though who sought to exploit that to make money for themselves, motivated by greed. I'm satisfied Jogesh Bhandari and Craig Morris fall into that category."

The court also heard how the fraud extended across international borders. The National Crime Agency said Jogesh Bhandari worked with Frank Labruzzo, an attorney in the Louisiana Attorney General's Office, who provided a fraudulent escrow service. An escrow account normally holds funds securely until pre-arranged conditions are met, but in this case it was used to facilitate the deception. Labruzzo and another person involved in the scheme have been convicted and sentenced in the United States.

The sentencing brings to a close one chapter of a case that prosecutors said was driven by greed during a global health emergency. While healthcare systems and governments were struggling to source protective equipment for frontline workers, the fraudsters were diverting money from medical supply companies into personal luxuries.

The case also highlights the international reach of pandemic-related fraud, with US authorities securing convictions against a participant who held public office. The National Crime Agency's investigation spanned multiple jurisdictions and traced funds through complex arrangements.

Morris now begins his prison sentence, while Meenakashi Bhandari will serve her suspended term in the community. Jogesh Bhandari, described by prosecutors as the "driving force and the instigator" of the offending, remains awaiting sentencing, with a warrant issued for his arrest should he fail to appear in court next month.