'Let's clean up! Milk it': Husband and wife among team of Covid fraudsters who blew millions on a £126,000 Porsche and Rolexes

Jogesh Bhandari, 59, of Loughborough, and Craig Morris, 43, of Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, falsely claimed they could supply millions of boxes of nitrile gloves to businesses and healthcare providers in the UK and US.

Instead, they pocketed millions of pounds, spending the proceeds on luxury cars, watches, jewellery, worldwide travel and clearing personal debts.

The pair worked with Frank Labruzzo, then an assistant attorney general with the Louisiana Department of Justice, who provided a fraudulent escrow account through which victims' money was channelled before being distributed among the conspirators.

The fraud began in November 2020 when a company paid for what it believed was an order of 12 million boxes of nitrile gloves.

The funds were transferred into the bogus holding account before being shared between Labruzzo, Bhandari and other companies connected to the scheme.

A month later, a second fraudulent deal brought a further $2.7 million into the account. Bhandari withdrew almost $500,000, using the money to pay off debts owed by himself and his wife.

Investigators also uncovered forged bank statements claiming Bhandari had access to as much as $125 million, together with fabricated letters intended to convince businesses he had the financial backing to fulfil major PPE contracts.

In 2021, Bhandari received more than $3.18 million for a shipment of gloves that was never delivered to hospitals in the United States.

His final fraud came later that year when he persuaded another supplier that he was a major player in the PPE market with access to hundreds of millions of dollars.

The supplier transferred $1.35 million into a company account controlled by Bhandari's wife, Meenakashi (Meena) Bhandari, 58.

From those funds, Bhandari paid Morris £200,000 before buying himself a new Porsche worth £126,000.

In footage obtained by investigators, Bhandari is seen sitting behind the wheel of the car, expressing his delight at the purchase.

The NCA said the Bhandaris spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on Rolex and other luxury watches, jewellery, luxury holidays and vehicles including an Audi A5, a Land Rover Discovery and a Volkswagen Golf.

None of the money was used to provide the PPE they had promised.

Investigators also recovered more than 47,000 WhatsApp messages and emails exchanged between the defendants.

In one message, Morris wrote: "All over the news is all about PPE shortage. Let's clean up!! Milk it... fill ya boots."

Bhandari replied: "[Thumbs up] it's about good teamwork and EVERYONE making money."

In another exchange, Bhandari sent Morris a photograph of a Rolls-Royce and wrote: "If I want one of these then we need to keep going."

The pair later fell out after Morris stopped receiving regular £5,000 payments towards the end of 2021.

Meena Bhandari was convicted of money laundering after prosecutors proved she knew the money passing through the business accounts represented the proceeds of fraud.

All three defendants were arrested in February 2023 and charged with fraud by false representation and money laundering.

Following a five-week trial at Leicester Crown Court, they were convicted on Tuesday. Labruzzo and another co-conspirator have already been convicted in the United States.

The three defendants will be sentenced on August 21.

Paul Boniface, operations manager at the National Crime Agency, said: "The Covid-19 pandemic was a time of uncertainty and the sudden demand for PPE created opportunities for fraudsters such as the Bhandaris and Morris to exploit businesses for their own financial gain.

"They capitalised on these vulnerabilities to fund lavish lifestyles, while diverting money away from genuine organisations that needed vital equipment. The effects of this type of fraud extend far beyond the immediate financial losses."The NCA will continue to target fraudsters who cause significant harm to the UK economy."