LOS ANGELES—An Orange County man was sentenced on Aug. 23 to seven years and three months in federal prison for defrauding victims who paid more than $3 million for COVID-related medical protective equipment that was never delivered.
Christopher Badsey, 63, of Lake Forest, pleaded guilty in downtown Los Angeles in April 2023 to four counts of wire fraud.
Badsey told buyers he had access to millions of boxes of medical-grade nitrile gloves through his Irvine-based company, First Defense International Security Services Corp (FDI). This type of personal protective equipment was in high demand and short supply during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Badsey entered into contractual agreements with three companies, whom he required to provide a monetary deposit to inspect the gloves before delivery, papers filed in Los Angeles federal court show.
After receiving the deposits, Badsey instructed victim 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.
Badsey instructed the companies to wire the deposits to accounts controlled by himself, FDI, or a co-schemer. Relying on Badsey’s false statements, the companies wired a total of $3.23 million.
The defendant “used the deposit money to make expensive purchases, all while stringing would-be purchasers along with false stories, including absurd claims that government agents were blocking access to his warehouse of gloves,” federal prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum.
Badsey has forfeited all title and interest in money or items derived from his crimes, including a yacht, a pontoon boat, two Mercedes-Benz automobiles, two Ford pickup trucks, an RV, a tractor, three ATVs, miscellaneous fishing equipment, and $58,923 in cash, prosecutors said.
Along with his 87-month prison sentence, Badsey was ordered to pay more than $1.9 million in restitution to victims, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
