An Orange County man pleaded guilty April 12 to defrauding companies who in mid-2020 paid for COVID-related medical protective equipment that was never delivered, causing more than $3 million in losses.<br><br>\r\nChristopher John Badsey, 62, of Lake Forest, pleaded guilty to four counts of wire fraud.<br><br>\r\nAccording to his plea agreement, in June and July of 2020, Badsey lied to three victim companies when he told them he had access to millions of boxes of nitrile gloves through his Irvine-based company, First Defense International Security Services Corp. (FDI).<br><br>\r\nThis type of personal protective equipment was in high demand and short supply during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.<br><br>\r\nBadsey agreed by contract to sell millions of boxes of gloves to each of the three companies. But Badsey told the companies’ representatives that before they could inspect the gloves, which he claimed were stored in a ware