An Orange County man was sentenced on Friday, Aug. 23, to seven years and three months in federal prison for defrauding victims who paid for COVID-related medical-grade protective gloves that were never delivered — causing almost $2 million in losses. Christopher Badsey, 63, of Lake Forest had pleaded guilty in April 2023 to four federal counts of wire fraud, the U.
S. Attorney’s Office said. Badsey told buyers he had access to millions of boxes of medical-grade nitrile gloves through his Irvine company, First Defense International Security Services Corp.
This type of protective equipment was in high demand and short supply during the COVID-19 pandemic. Badsey entered into contractual agreements with three companies, which he required to provide a deposit to inspect the gloves before delivery, papers filed in L.A.
federal court show. After receiving the deposits, Badsey instructed the company representatives to travel to the Los Angeles area, where he claimed the gloves were stored in a warehouse. However, when victims attempted to visit the warehouse, Badsey and other FDI employees provided excuses as to why the gloves could neither be inspected nor delivered to them.
Nitrile gloves were never provided, and Badsey absconded with the deposit money, according to his plea agreement. After obtaining the victims’ wire deposits, Badsey and others used those funds to make lavish purchases, including for fishing boats, luxury cars, tractors and trucks, prosecutors said. Along with his prison sentence, Badsey was ordered to pay more than $1.
9 million in restitution to victims, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
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