UK Court Convicts Indian-Origin Couple in Multimillion Dollar COVID PPE Scam

An Indian-origin couple has been convicted in the United Kingdom for orchestrating a large-scale COVID-19 personal protective equipment (PPE) fraud that defrauded businesses of millions of dollars during the pandemic. Jogesh Bhandari, 59, Meenakashi (Meena) Bhandari, 58, and associate Craig Morris, 43, were found guilty by Leicester Crown Court after a five week trial and will be sentenced on August 21.

According to the UK National Crime Agency (NCA), the trio falsely claimed they could supply millions of boxes of nitrile gloves at the height of the pandemic, exploiting the urgent global demand for protective equipment. Instead of delivering the promised PPE, investigators found they diverted the funds for personal use, including luxury cars, expensive watches, jewellery, home renovations and overseas holidays.

The investigation found that Bhandari controlled a company established in 2020 to trade nitrile gloves and worked with Frank Labruzzo, a former US Assistant Attorney General in Louisiana, who operated a fraudulent escrow service. Authorities said funds meant to remain protected in escrow accounts were immediately transferred to Bhandari, Labruzzo and associated companies.

Investigators uncovered multiple fraudulent transactions between 2020 and 2021, including a failed order worth more than 3.18 million dollars for US hospitals and another deal valued at 1.8 billion dollars, backed by forged financial documents and fake bank guarantees. In one transaction, 1.35 million dollars was transferred into a business account controlled by Meena Bhandari and later used to purchase a new Porsche and renovate the couple's home.

NCA Operations Manager Paul Boniface said the defendants exploited the global health crisis for financial gain, depriving legitimate organisations of critical protective equipment while funding extravagant lifestyles. Authorities confirmed that Labruzzo had already been convicted in the United States in connection with the same international fraud scheme.