Two men were sentenced at Leicester Crown Court following a five-week trial regarding a massive nitrile glove scam . The operation targeted companies desperate for PPE during the COVID-19 pandemic to divert millions into personal accounts.
The fraudulent escrow service involving Frank Labruzzo
The global shortage of medical supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic created a high-stakes environment where legitimate procurement was often bypassed by urgent necessity. This period saw a surge in opportunistic crimes as companies scrambled to secure protective equipment. The case of Jogesh Bhandari and Craig Morris is a stark example of how this desperation was exploited to facilitate large-scale financial theft.
As the report states, the duo launched a company in 2020 specifically to trade nitrile gloves, but they never intended to fulfill their multi-million pound contracts.. Instead, they utilized a fraudulent escrow service allegedly linked to Frank Labruzzo , an Assistant Attorney General with the Louisiana State Department of Justice, to move funds. in one instance, Bhandari agreed to a deal for 12 million boxes of gloves, only to have the money immeddiately diverted once it reached the escrow account.
A £126,000 Porsche and a trail of luxury watches
Stolen funds were funneled into a wide array of luxury goods and personal assets rather than medical supplies. Bhandari used the proceeds to purchase a £126,000 red sports car, a purchase he was filmed celebrating in a video. According to the report, bank records also revealed hundreds of thousands of pounds spent on high-end items, including:
- Rolex and other luxury watches
- Expensive jewelry
- An Audi A5, a Land Rover Discovery, and a VW Golf
- Worldwide luxury travel and holiday packages
The fraud also funded significant domestic improvements for the Bhandari family. Investigators found that money was used for a kitchen refurbishment and extensive work on the home shared by Jogesh and Meenakshi Bhandari. While the report provides a detailed account of the defendants' spending, it does not offer a perspective from the companies that were defrauded.
47,000 messages and the 'Show Me the Money' plot
Digital communications provided the National Crime Agency with a roadmap of the conspirators' intent. Investigators uncovered more than 47,000 messages exchanged between Morris and Bhandari that detailed their deceptive tactics . In one exchange,Bhandari explicitly asked Morris to assist with a scam by posing as a previously satisfied customer.
The messages also revealed a casual attitude toward the crime. One message saw Morris referencing the 1996 film Jerry Maguire by asking Bhandari what the character famously shouted, "show me the money." Other communications included Morris asking for details regarding a hospital Bhandari claimed to be building in South Africa, ostensibly to help him blackmail a supplier.
The mystery of the missing $3.18 million and the Louisiana connection
The investigation into the fraud leaves several critical questions regarding the involvement of US legal officials.. While the report notes that Frank Labruzzo provided a "fraudulent escrow service," it remains unclear if the Louisiana State Department of Justice official was an active participant or if his identity was being used to lend a veneer of legitimacy to the scam.
Furthermore,the fate of the $3.18 million intended for US hospitals remains an unverified detail in the current reporting. While the source details where the money went—including Bhandari's personal debts and luxury purchases—it does not clarify if any of those funds were ever recovered or redirected to the medical facilities that were originally promised the supplies.
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