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A man has been imprisoned for orchestrating a scam that defrauded medical businesses out of millions of pounds through fake personal protective equipment (PPE) agreements during the Covid-19 crisis. Craig Morris, aged 43, together with Jogesh Bhandari, aged 60, used the proceeds from their deception to purchase luxury vehicles, fund vacations, and acquire a new residence, all while falsely claiming they could supply millions of boxes of nitrile gloves to buyers in the US and Germany.
Both Morris and Bhandari were found guilty at Leicester Crown Court in July on charges of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation, as well as concealing and transferring criminal property. On Wednesday, Morris was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison. Bhandari, who lives on Mitchell Drive in Loughborough, Leicestershire, has yet to be sentenced. Due to recent surgery involving the fitting of a pacemaker and his use of a “very extreme painkiller,” Bhandari informed his counsel that he was unable to travel to Northampton for the sentencing hearing.
Attending the hearing, however, was Bhandari’s wife, Meenakashi, a former pharmacist aged 58 and also residing on Mitchell Drive. She was convicted of concealing and transferring criminal property and received a two-year prison sentence, suspended for two years, alongside 250 hours of unpaid work and 15 days of rehabilitation activities. Judge William Harbage KC noted that no medical documentation was provided to justify Jogesh Bhandari’s absence and announced that a bench warrant would be issued. Bhandari’s sentencing is scheduled for 16 October.
During the trial, prosecutor Michael Bisgrove characterized Bhandari as the mastermind and driving force behind the criminal activities, with Morris acting under his direction. Bisgrove explained that the offences occurred during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, a period marked by an acute shortage of PPE. Seizing on this vulnerability, the pair fabricated deals through a company named Banton, falsely presenting themselves as major PPE distributors capable of supplying vast quantities. Their victims included the US company Med18 and Germany’s MedTech, both of whom received contracts for equipment that did not exist. The court was told the fraud netted millions, which the defendants used to finance a luxury lifestyle
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