UK Fraudster Jailed for £1.75m Pandemic PPE Scam That Funded Luxury Cars and Property

A man who helped orchestrate a multi-million pound fraud involving bogus personal protective equipment deals 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 conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation, along with concealing and transferring criminal property.

Morris, of Forest Drive in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, was one of three people convicted in July at Leicester Crown Court following an investigation by the National Crime Agency. Together with Jogesh Bhandari, 60, he posed as a major player in the global PPE market when supplies of protective gear were desperately short, persuading medical companies in the United States and Germany to hand over millions of pounds for equipment that never existed.

The court heard that the pair operated under a company called Banton and presented themselves as capable of supplying millions of boxes of nitrile gloves to overseas buyers. Prosecutor Michael Bisgrove told the court that Jogesh Bhandari was the "driving force and the instigator" of the offending, while Morris was "very much working for him". The scheme, he said, was born directly out of the pandemic-era shortage of protective equipment, when the offenders spotted an opportunity to profit from buyers desperate to secure supplies.

According to the prosecution, the fraud targeted US company Med18 and German firm MedTech, with the pair sending contracts for equipment they did not possess. Bisgrove said the men took millions of pounds through the scheme and used the proceeds to fund cars, luxury goods and property for their own benefit. The court heard that Morris bought a house with his share of the money, while the Bhandaris used funds to pay off family debt.

The scale of the fraud was laid out in court: Jogesh Bhandari obtained and retained £1.75 million through the offending, while his wife Meenakashi Bhandari, 58, a former pharmacist, laundered £960,000. The National Crime Agency has previously said Morris received regular payments of £5,000 from Jogesh Bhandari before the two men fell out at the end of 2021.

Meenakashi Bhandari, of Mitchell Drive, Loughborough, Leicestershire, was found guilty of concealing and transferring criminal property. She was handed a two-year prison sentence suspended for two years, along with 250 hours of unpaid work and 15 days of rehabilitation activity. She attended the sentencing hearing, but her husband did not.

Jogesh Bhandari's 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 for the hearing. Judge William Harbage KC said there was "no medical evidence" to properly explain the absence and confirmed that a bench warrant would be issued. Bhandari is expected to be sentenced on 16 October, meaning the full extent of his punishment remains to be determined.

The court also heard how the fraud was facilitated by Frank Labruzzo, an attorney in the Louisiana Attorney General's Office in the United States, who provided a fraudulent escrow service. Such accounts are normally used to hold funds until pre-arranged conditions are met, giving buyers confidence that their money is protected. The court was told that Labruzzo and another person involved in the scheme have already been convicted and sentenced in the US, underlining the cross-border nature of the operation.

Sentencing Morris and Meenakashi Bhandari, Judge Harbage reflected on the context in which the crimes took place. He said the pandemic was a period when "all of us had to make sacrifices and pull together for the good of society as a whole". He added that a small number of people sought to exploit that moment for personal gain, motivated by greed, and said he was satisfied that Jogesh Bhandari and Morris fell into that category.

The case is one of a number of Covid-era fraud prosecutions pursued by UK authorities in recent years, as investigators continue to examine how public money and private contracts were exploited during the emergency. The PPE sector was particularly vulnerable to abuse because global demand vastly outstripped supply in 2020 and 2021, leaving buyers in healthcare systems and medical supply chains willing to pay upfront for goods that were difficult to verify.

The National Crime Agency, which led the investigation, has emphasised that financial crime linked to the pandemic remains a priority. Cases such as this one typically involve tracing money through multiple bank accounts and jurisdictions, and they often rely on cooperation between UK and overseas law enforcement. The convictions of Labruzzo and another individual in the US illustrate how such schemes can span continents.

For the victims, the damage extends beyond the immediate financial loss. Med18 and MedTech paid out substantial sums for equipment that was never delivered, at a time when reliable access to PPE was a matter of public health importance. The court's findings make clear that the money was diverted into personal enrichment rather than any genuine attempt to supply goods.

The sentencing of Morris closes one chapter in the case, but the outstanding sentencing of Jogesh Bhandari, described in court as the scheme's central figure, means the legal process is not yet complete. A bench warrant gives authorities the power to arrest him if he fails to appear, and the 16 October hearing will determine the length of his custodial term.

Legal commentators note that suspended sentences, such as the one handed to Meenakashi Bhandari, are sometimes used where a defendant has shown remorse, has dependants, or where the court believes rehabilitation is better served in the community. In this instance, the judge combined the suspended term with a substantial amount of unpaid work and rehabilitation activity, reflecting a balance between punishment and attempts to prevent reoffending.

The case also serves as a reminder of how quickly opportunities for fraud can emerge during periods of crisis. When normal supply chains break down and institutions are forced to move fast, verification processes can be weakened, creating openings for criminals to present themselves as legitimate operators. Investigators say that lessons learned from pandemic-era fraud are now informing how authorities assess risk in future emergencies.