School governor who 'enthusiastically' joined gang that carried out multi-million-pound Covid PPE scam is jailed

A school governor has been jailed for his part in a multi-million-pound Covid-19 PPE scam that saw him paid a 'salary' of £5,000 per month by its ringleader – who splashed out on luxury cars and holidays.Craig Morris and Jogesh Bhandari set up an 'umbrella of companies' in 2020 to trade in millions of boxes of nitrile gloves during the pandemic.But they had 'no ability and no intention to fulfil these contracts', and after unsuspecting firms paid to either buy or sell the equipment, huge amounts were withdrawn immediately and ended up in Bhandari's own bank, and those of his wife, Meena Bhandari.Investigators said none of the money paid to 'prime mover' Jogesh Bhandari, 59, 'was used for its intended purposes' – and was instead used to fund his lavish style.Northampton Crown Court heard Morris, 43, a school governor at the time of the offending, played a 'subsidiary but significant' role in the fraud – and had 'joined it enthusiastically', providing support with sales and logistics.Prosecutors said Morris received seven monthly 'consultancy' payments of £5,000 from Bhandari – as well as a £200,000 lump sum, which he spent on a house. Craig Morris, 43, from Lytham St Annes in Lancashire, made representations on behalf of the company in a number of fraudulent deals Jogesh Bhandari (pictured), from Loughborough, launched a company in 2020 to buy and sell millions of boxes of gloves to businesses in desperate need Payments were also made to repay a debt owed by his wife Meena Bhandari (pictured) In one video filmed amidst the fraud, Bhandari can be seen fawning over a brand new luxury sports car he has bought with the money The pair were arrested in February 2023 and charged with fraud by false representation and money laundering. They were found guilty of the offences in July this year following a five-week trial at Leicester Crown Court.Sentencing Morris, of Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, to three years and nine months in jail, judge William Harbage KC said more than $4.5million had been defrauded from companies as part of the con.He said the public had to 'make sacrifices and pull together' during the pandemic – but that there were 'a few people who sought to exploit the situation and make money for themselves, motivated by greed'.Judge Harbage said he was 'satisfied' Bhandari and Morris fell into that category, adding: 'These frauds were committed over a sustained period of time and sought to exploit the PPE market at time of immense international difficulty and concern.'They were sophisticated in nature, with significant international efforts.'The court heard the two men conspired together in 2020 and 2021 to defraud two medical companies – one in the US, and one in Germany. Bhandari also enlisted the help of two American citizens – Frank Labruzzo, an attorney in the Louisiana Attorney General's Office, and a woman named Cynthia Caronna.The first part of the scam saw Bhandari, of Loughborough, agree a deal to provide 12 million boxes of disposable nitrile gloves to a company called Med18.Prosecutor Michael Bisgrove said Labruzzo helped by providing a fake escrow service – where funds are supposed to remain in an account until both sides of an agreement have been met.The defrauded firm paid the escrow account but the money was immediately moved – paid to Labruzzo, Bhandari and other companies.In a second deal a month later, Bhandari received a further $2.7million in the account and proceeded to withdraw almost $500,000 to pay off his and Meena's debts.Throughout the fraud he sent a number of forged documents to potential suppliers including bank statements showing up to $125million, as well as false references – including from Morris – to try and convince them to trade with him.Then, in early 2021, Bhandari was paid more than $3.18million for an order of nitrile gloves to be delivered to US hospitals – only for them to never be shipped.His final fraud took place in late 2021 when he duped a German supplier into believing he was a 'big player' in the PPE industry and had access to hundreds of millions of dollars – stating he wanted to buy over $1billion worth of gloves.The company agreed a huge deal and Labruzzo provided a fraudulent letter, stating Bhandari had deposited $35million as a security against the first delivery.The German firm was then persuaded to pay $1.35million up front for air freight – which went straight into Bhandari's business account, controlled by his wife. Mr Bisgrove said £200,000 was sent to Morris, while Bhandari used £126,000 to buy himself a brand-new red Porsche.Bank records also showed Bhandari splashed out on Rolexes and other luxury watches, other cars including an Audi A5, a Land Rover Discovery, and a VW Golf, and extravagant worldwide travel.Videos recovered by officers showed a beaming Bhandari fawning over the Porsche – telling the person filming the sports car is 'amazing' before sitting inside it and saying he 'can't stop smiling'.In addition, more than 47,000 WhatsApp messages and emails were found that the defendants sent during the course of their criminality.In one, Morris said: 'All over the news is all about PPE shortage. Let's clean up!! Milk it... fill ya boots'. Bhandari replied with a thumbs up emoji, adding: 'It's about good teamwork and EVERYONE making money.'On another occasion, Bhandari sent an image of a Rolls-Royce and told Morris: 'But if I want one of these (a Rolls-Royce) then we need to keep going.'Mr Bisgrove said: 'They pretended to be big players in the PPE market.'They pretended to have access to PPE for sale, and to be able to buy it. Vast amounts of it.'They had no ability and no intention to fulfil these contracts.'They took millions of pounds for own benefit, buying cars, luxury goods and property.'Mr Bisgrove added that while the companies created by Bhandari and Morris claimed to have millions of dollars in their bank accounts, the true figure was just $3,000.Philip Plant, in mitigation for Morris, said he was a father to two teenage boys and a 'normal man who has worked hard and contributed to society, bar the period he was involved in this offence'.He provided 19 references to the court on Morris's behalf, and added: 'The thought of going to prison hits him hard, hits his children hard, and hits his wife hard.'Meena Bhandari, who was convicted of money laundering following the trial, was handed a two-year jail sentence, suspended for two years, and told she must carry out 250 hours of unpaid work in the community.Robin Howat, in mitigation, told the hearing her career as a pharmacist had been 'totally destroyed by these proceedings', and that her marriage to Bhandari had been 'broken by some of the evidene in the trial'.Bhandari didn't turn up to be sentenced, claiming he was unable to attend due to medical reasons after having a pacemaker fitted last month.Judge Harbage issued a warrant for his arrest, and adjourned his case for sentencing on October 16.The court heard Labruzzo and Caronna had already been sentenced in the US for their roles.