Three individuals who orchestrated a personal protective equipment (PPE) fraud during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic have been convicted, with details emerging of how they spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on luxury items. Jogesh Bhandari, 59, and Craig Morris, 43, were found guilty on Wednesday at Leicester Crown Court of two counts of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation, alongside concealing and transferring criminal property. Meenakashi Bhandari, 48, was also convicted of concealing and transferring criminal property.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) revealed that the group falsely claimed they could supply millions of boxes of nitrile gloves, a critical item in high demand during the pandemic. Bank records showed that Jogesh Bhandari and his wife, Meenakashi Bhandari, both from Loughborough, Leicestershire, used the illicit gains to acquire Rolex watches, jewellery, holiday packages, and luxury cars. Jogesh Bhandari alone spent £126,000 on a new Porsche, with further funds directed towards a kitchen refurbishment.
Jogesh Bhandari, who owned and controlled a company established in 2020 for the buying and selling of nitrile gloves, was central to the operation. Morris, from Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, assisted in multiple fraudulent transactions between 2020 and 2021. The NCA stated that Jogesh supplied forged documents, including bank statements purporting to show up to $125 million and letters of attestation, to persuade businesses to engage with him. WhatsApp messages between Jogesh and Morris explicitly discussed exploiting the PPE shortage, with Morris writing, "All over the news is all about ppe shortage. Let's clean up!! Milk it… fill ya boots."
The fraud began in November 2020 when Jogesh Bhandari agreed to supply 12 million boxes of gloves. A company paid into an escrow account, but instead of the money remaining there until the deal's completion, it was immediately transferred to Jogesh and his accomplice, Frank Labruzzo, a US assistant attorney general who provided the fraudulent escrow service. Labruzzo has since been convicted in the US. In subsequent deals, Jogesh received significant sums, including over $3.18 million for an order of nitrile gloves for US hospitals that were never delivered, and a further $1.35 million directly into his business account.
Paul Boniface, operations manager at the NCA, highlighted the severity of the crimes, stating that the activity occurred when PPE demand was at its peak. He commented, "Bhandari and his co-conspirators capitalised on these vulnerabilities by exploiting people and businesses for their own financial gain, paying for lavish lifestyles of luxury cars and significant home improvements." All three defendants were arrested in February 2023, and their sentencing is scheduled for 21 August 2026.