The architect of a personal protective equipment fraud scheme who accumulated luxury vehicles and high-end watches while deceiving companies out of millions of pounds during the Covid-19 pandemic has received an eight-year prison sentence.
Jogesh Bhandari, 60, orchestrated the deception by falsely claiming he could deliver millions of boxes of nitrile gloves to buyers in the United States and Germany between late 2020 and early 2022. According to BBC News, he spent £126,000 acquiring a Porsche and also purchased an Audi A5, a Land Rover Discovery, and jewellery using proceeds from the scheme. Court records indicate that Bhandari obtained and retained £1.75 million from the fraudulent operation.
Bhandari and his associate Craig Morris were found guilty of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation and concealing and transferring criminal property following their trial at Leicester Crown Court in July. Morris, based in Forest Drive in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, received a sentence of three years and nine months on 7 October. Bhandari's wife, Meenakashi Bhandari, 58, a former pharmacist from Mitchell Drive in Loughborough, was convicted of concealing and transferring criminal property and received a two-year prison sentence suspended for two years, along with 250 hours of unpaid work and 15 days of rehabilitation activity, also on 7 October.
The National Crime Agency reported that all three defendants were arrested in February 2023 following its investigation, with the trial lasting five weeks. The agency also disclosed that investigators discovered Bhandari had used forged bank statements purporting to show access to as much as $125 million and fabricated attestation letters to persuade potential suppliers to engage with him.
How did the fraud operate?
The scheme centred on Banton, a company controlled by Bhandari and Morris, which was used to execute the fraudulent transactions. Bhandari defrauded US-based Med18 and German firm MedTech by submitting contracts for equipment he did not possess and had no ability to supply.
The fraud commenced in November 2020 when Bhandari negotiated an agreement to furnish 12 million boxes of gloves. A company transferred funds into a fraudulent escrow account established by Frank Labruzzo, an attorney in the Louisiana Attorney General's Office. Rather than the money remaining in the account until the transaction was finalised, it was immediately transferred to Labruzzo and Bhandari. According to the National Crime Agency, more than $3.18 million was paid for gloves intended for US hospitals that were never delivered. Meenakashi Bhandari laundered £960,000 of the proceeds.
What did the judge say?
At Northampton Crown Court, Judge William Harbage KC characterised Bhandari as the
driving forceof the offending and the
directing mindof Banton. The judge expressed scepticism about Bhandari's stated remorse, noting that the
remorse expressed by Jogesh in a letter to the court was difficult to accept given how vigorously you contested these charges.
What circumstances did the defence present?
Bhandari's defence barrister, Dominic Bardill, informed the court that his client had attempted to take his own life following his conviction and was facing impending divorce proceedings. In a letter partly read aloud in court, Bhandari wrote that he had
destroyed the life of the woman I truly love with all my heart, adding
now she despises me.
Bardill characterised Bhandari's false claim to have cancer as a
spur of the moment liemade because the defendant was
completely out of his depth. The barrister told the court:
There is an element of using the dishonesty to run away from the stress, pressure and consequences of those actions.
Bardill emphasised Bhandari's previously unblemished record, stating:
This man standing before you, up until this point, has been a man of good character, a family man, a man who brought up two children. It was a mixture of greed, a mixture of, as I say, terrible decision making. When I say he's lost everything, I'm deadly serious. He really has lost everything because of that offence.
The barrister also raised concerns about Bhandari's health, noting he was
extremely anxiousabout how his medical conditions, including a recently fitted pacemaker, would be managed during his imprisonment.
Key Facts
- Jogesh Bhandari sentenced to eight years in prison on Friday at Northampton Crown Court for leading a PPE fraud scheme operating between late 2020 and early 2022
- Bhandari obtained £1.75 million from the fraud and spent £126,000 on a Porsche, plus purchasing an Audi A5, Land Rover Discovery, and jewellery
- Co-conspirator Craig Morris received three years and nine months; Bhandari's wife Meenakashi received a suspended two-year sentence with unpaid work requirements
- More than $3.18 million was paid for gloves intended for US hospitals that were never delivered
- All three defendants were arrested in February 2023 following a National Crime Agency investigation
