Fraudsters brazenly joked with one another to 'show me the money' as they defrauded millions from companies needing PPE supplies during the pandemic - and spent the stolen cash instead on funding their lavish lifestyles.
But Jogesh Bhandari, 59, from Loughborough and Craig Morris, 43, from Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, are no longer quoting lines from 1996 box office hit Jerry Maguire - and are instead spending time behind bars after being convicted of fraud and money laundering.
Bhandari's wife Meenakshi (Meena) Bhandari, 64, has meanwhile narrowly avoided prison after she was handed a suspended sentence for her role in the complex fraud.
The two men launched a company in 2020 to buy and sell nitrile gloves at the height of the Covid pandemic, but never fulfilled their multi-million pound contracts.
Instead they worked with Frank Labruzzo, a US Assistant Attorney General at the Louisiana State Department of Justice, who provided a fraudulent escrow service.
An escrow account is a bank account which acts as a holding point for funds that are released when both sides of an agreement have been reached.
In November 2020, Bhandari agreed a deal to provide 12 million boxes of gloves. As soon as the money was received into the escrow account, it was moved and paid out to Bhandari, Labruzzo and other companies.
Bhandari then made a second deal and received a further $2.7million in the account. He almost immediately withdrew $500,000 to pay off his and his wife's debts.
Jogesh Bhandari was filmed fawning over a brand new Porsche he bought with money defrauded from companies awaiting PPE equipment during the pandemic
Bhandari comments he 'can't stop smiling' as he opened the door to take a look inside
Bhandari (pictured), from Loughborough, was sentenced to eight years in prison after setting up the fraudulent Covid PPE business
In early 2021, Bhandari was paid more than $3.18m for gloves to be delivered to US hospitals. The company paid $1.35m for the first two planned shipments, but the money went straight into a business account controlled by his wife.
Bhandari sent £200,000 to Morris, while he went off to buy a brand new Porsche for £126,000.
In a sickening video filmed amidst the fraud, Bhandari can be seen fawning over the brand new luxury sports car he purchased with the stolen money.
Donning a pair of blue jeans and a sweatshirt, he can hardly believe his luck as he pulls off a black sheet to reveal the shiny red vehicle.
Bhandari looks at the camera and says he 'can't stop smiling' and calls the car 'amazing' as he opens the door to take a look inside.
Later footage filmed on a police bodyworn camera captured the moment of Bhandari's early morning arrest.
Morris and Bhandari shared more than 47,000 messages during their fraud.
In one, Bhandari told Morris: 'I need you to help me out with a scam…you need to pose as a previous satisfied customer'.
Morris replied: 'I'll do what I can to help.'
In another, Morris rhetorically asked Bhandari: 'What was it Jerry Maguire shouted… show me the money!!!!!!!!'
A further message reveals Morris asked Bhandari: 'Can you send me that link for the hospital you're building in SA. I'm trying to blackmail a supplier [laugh emoji]'.
Investigators found some of the defrauded money was spent on a kitchen refurbishment and extensive home improvements on Bhandari's home which he shared with Meena.
As well as paying off debts owed to family and friends, bank records show the Bhandaris spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on Rolexes and other luxury watches, expensive jewellery, a series of cars including an Audi A5, a Land Rover Discovery and a VW Golf, and worldwide luxury travel and holiday packages.
None of the money was used for its intended purpose.
Payments were also made to 'Rodi' to repay a debt owed by Meena. She was charged with money laundering after the NCA investigation showed she was aware the funds used were from Bhandari's fraudulent activity.
Morris was due to receive regular £5,000 payments from Bhandari but the two men fell out at the end of 2021 and no further cash was received.
Craig Morris, 43, from Lancashire,was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison
Meena Bhandari was handed a two-year suspended sentence for her role in the complex fraud
All three defendants were arrested in February 2023 and charged with several counts of fraud by false representation and money laundering.
They were convicted at Leicester Crown Court after a five-week trial in July.
Bhandari failed to appear in court on two separate occasions for sentencing, claiming health issues.
The judge ordered he was arrested on a bench warrant and he appeared on Friday (yesterday) for sentencing.
Bhandari was handed an eight-year prison term.
Meena Bhandari and Craig Morris were sentenced on October 7. Morris was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison, while Meena was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years and a requirement to undertake 250 hours of unpaid work.
Paul Boniface from the National Crime Agency, said: 'These defendants took an opportunity to target legitimate businesses and line their own pockets for a lavish lifestyle during a pandemic that caused uncertainty around the world.
'While Bhandari was picking up his brand new luxury car and talking about how he couldn't stop smiling, healthcare facilities had not received the vital PPE they needed at a time when demand was exponential and companies were millions of dollars out of pocket.
'These sentences recognise that their selfish actions caused far reaching effects, far beyond the immediate losses for the legitimate businesses involved.
'The NCA will continue to target fraudsters like these who cause significant harm to the UK economy.'