LOS ANGELES—An Orange County man pleaded guilty April 12 to defrauding victims who paid for COVID-related medical-grade protective gloves that were never delivered, causing more than $3 million in losses.
Christopher Badsey, 62, of Lake Forest, entered his plea to four federal counts of wire fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
U.S. District Judge Josephine Staton scheduled a Sept. 15 sentencing hearing, at which time Badsey will potentially face up to 20 years in federal prison for each wire fraud count, federal prosecutors said.
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), prosecutors said. The gloves were in high demand and short supply during the COVID-19 pandemic….