A Loughborough man has been convicted with two accomplices for orchestrating a multimillion-dollar fraud that exploited global demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) during the Covid-19 pandemic. The National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation found funds paid for shipments of nitrile gloves never reached suppliers and were diverted to personal use.
How the scheme operated
The convicted ringleader, Jogesh Bhandari, 59, of Loughborough, controlled a company formed in 2020 to trade nitrile gloves. Prosecutors say he and associates falsely claimed they could fulfil large international orders and used forged documentation and fraudulent escrow arrangements to obtain payments.
- Craig Morris, 43, of Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, acted as a representative in several deals in 2020 and 2021.
- A US-based official, named in legal material as Frank Labruzzo, an assistant attorney general in Louisiana, provided a bogus escrow service that facilitated the misdirection of funds.
- Payments intended to secure glove deliveries were moved out of escrow and paid to Bhandari, Labruzzo and other companies instead of being retained pending delivery.
Scale and consequences of the fraud
The case revealed a sequence of transactions in which purchasers paid substantial sums for promised PPE shipments that never arrived. In November 2020 a deal was arranged for 12 million boxes of gloves, with funds placed in an escrow account that were swiftly cleared out. In December 2020 a further $2.7 million was received and nearly $500,000 was withdrawn to settle debts belonging to Bhandari and his wife. Early in 2021, Bhandari received more than $3.18 million for an order destined for US hospitals that was never supplied. A later arrangement reportedly involved a proposed supply contract valued at $1.8 billion, in which a purported security deposit of $35 million was alleged; the supplier paid approximately $1.35 million towards initial shipments that did not materialise.
| Transaction | Amount | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| November 2020 order | 12 million boxes | Funds removed from escrow |
| December 2020 payment | $2.7m | ~$500k withdrawn for debts |
| Early 2021 US hospital order | $3.18m+ | No delivery |
| Late 2021 proposed supply | $1.8bn contract; $1.35m paid | Shipments not delivered |
Local impact and public interest
According to the investigation, proceeds were used for significant personal expenditure, including hundreds of thousands of pounds on house renovations and luxury motor vehicles. The conviction highlights how opportunistic fraudsters targeted emergency procurement during a public health crisis, harming suppliers and purchasers internationally and tarnishing legitimate local business activity.
“The NCA inquiry found that funds paid into purportedly secure accounts were diverted away from intended suppliers,”
For residents and firms in Loughborough, the case is a reminder of the reputational and community risks when local people or companies are implicated in transnational financial crime. It also underlines the ongoing role of national and international agencies in investigating complex pandemic-era frauds where funds flowed rapidly across borders.
