Los Angeles Times — O.C. man took money meant for COVID gloves to buy boats and cars (Aug. 24, 2024)
Summary
A Los Angeles Times article by Andrew J. Campa, dated Aug. 24, 2024, reporting that an Orange County man, Christopher John Badsey, was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison after admitting he duped three companies out of $3 million for protective gloves that were promised but never delivered at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It states that he was ordered to pay $1.94 million in restitution after pleading guilty to four counts of wire fraud and that, according to court documents, the companies wired a total of $3.2 million. It reports that authorities say he used the deposit money for purchases including a yacht and vehicles.
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- 2026-10-02
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“Los Angeles Times — O.C. man took money meant for COVID gloves to buy boats and cars (Aug. 24, 2024).”
Original at www.latimes.com. Archived at Pandemic Darlings on 2026-10-02, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/los-angeles-times-orange-county-man-sentenced-in-covid-glove-fraud-sch-03a69bcf77/
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O.C. man took money meant for COVID gloves to buy boats and cars. Now, he’s been sentenced for fraud Authorities say Christopher John Badsey duped three companies out of $3 million for protective gloves that were never delivered, and used the money to buy luxury items such as boats and vehicles. (U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California) By Andrew J. Campa Staff Writer Follow Aug. 24, 2024 4 AM PT An Orange County man was sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison Friday after admitting he duped three companies out of $3 million for protective gloves that were promised but never delivered during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the 87-month sentence, Christopher John Badsey, 63, of Lake Forest was ordered to pay $1.94 million in restitution after pleading guilty to four counts of wire fraud. In June and July 2020 — when personal protective equipment such as masks, gloves and hand sanitizer were in short supply — Badsey claimed his Irvine-based company, First Defense International Security Services Corp., could provide millions of boxes of nitrile gloves, according to court documents. Advertisement Orange County is suing a nonprofit group and the daughter of one of its own supervisors, accusing them of taking millions of dollars in county contracts and “brazenly plunder[ing] these funds for their own personal gain.” Aug. 17, 2024 Badsey entered into contracts to sell gloves to three other companies, court documents say, and required each to deposit around $1 million before they could inspect the promised goods. The companies wired a total of $3.2 million to accounts Badsey, his company or an unnamed co-schemer controlled, according to court documents. However, prosecutors say Badsey didn’t have the gloves, and concocted elaborate excuses whenever his clients inquired about delivery. His false stories included “absurd claims that government agents were blocking access to his warehouse,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum. Advertisement Raghavender Reddy Budamala reportedly used the loans to purchase a $1.2 million “investment property” in Eagle Rock, a nearly $600,000 property in Malibu and a “personal residence” in Irvine. June 5, 2022 Meanwhile, he used the deposit money to bankroll expensive purchases, authorities say, including a yacht, a pontoon boat, two Mercedes-Benz automobiles, two Ford pickup trucks, a recreation vehicle, a tractor, three ATVs and fishing equipment. He has forfeited all titles from items purchased with the pilfered funds, along with $58,923 in cash. Court documents show that Badsey — who previously pleaded guilty to three gun misdemeanors, including gross negligent discharge of a firearm, in November 2016 — had initially argued for a much leaner sentence: one year and one day, a three-year term of supervised release and a special assessment of $400. More to Read California Orange County The Latest Crime & Courts COVID-19 Pandemic Sign up for Essential California The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning. By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Service , which include arbitration and a class action waiver. You agree that we and our third-party vendors may collect and use your information, including through cookies, pixels and similar technologies, for the purposes set forth in our Privacy Policy such as personalizing your experience and ads. Andrew J. Campa Follow Us Andrew J. Campa is a member of the Fast Break team at the Los Angeles Times, having previously covered the Eastside and San Gabriel Valley. Before, he worked at several medium and small daily newspapers and has covered education, sports and general news. He’s a proud University of Alabama (#RollTide), Cal State Fullerton and Pasadena City College alumnus. More From the Los Angeles Times Podcasts - This episode examines what we know about what happened between the Lachman Fire and the Palisades Fire, and the missteps and miscommunication that may have led to one of California’s most destructive fires in history. - Marvin Margolis was a promising early suspect in the Black Dahlia murder, but he managed to slip through the cracks. So who was this man of many pseudonyms? - In this specially released bonus episode, Madison McGhee and Jami Rice share some extremely opinionated opinions about everything from the Menendez Brothers to Jax Taylor. Most Read in California
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