Craig Morris, 43, of Forest Drive in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison at Northampton Crown Court on Wednesday. He was convicted alongside Jogesh Bhandari, 60, of two counts of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation, and of concealing and transferring criminal property, at Leicester Crown Court in July.
The men pretended they could supply millions of boxes of nitrile gloves to medical companies in the US and Germany during the pandemic, when PPE was in desperate shortage. The proceeds were spent on luxury cars, holidays and a new home.
Bhandari, of Mitchell Drive, Loughborough, was not present at the sentencing hearing. He told his counsel he was taking a "very extreme painkiller" after having a pacemaker fitted last week and could not travel to Northampton. Judge William Harbage KC said there was "no medical evidence" to explain the absence and issued a bench warrant. Bhandari is expected to be sentenced on 16 October.
His wife, Meenakashi Bhandari, 58, a former pharmacist, did attend the hearing. She was found guilty of concealing and transferring criminal property and was given a two-year prison sentence, suspended for two years, 250 hours of unpaid work and 15 days of rehabilitation activity.
Prosecutor Michael Bisgrove told the court that Bhandari was the "driving force and the instigator" of the offending, while Morris was "very much working for him".
"The offences took place during the Covid-19 pandemic at a time when there was a desperate shortage of personal protective equipment," Bisgrove said. "In that shortage, the offenders, particularly Mr Bhandari and Mr Morris, saw the opportunity to make money by fraud."