Posted on 04/23/2013 3:11:47 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A businessman who made millions selling fake bomb detectors is facing jail.
James McCormick made an estimated £50million from sales of three models of bomb detectors to Iraq, Belgium and even the United Nations for use in Lebanon.
But the Advanced Selection Equipment devices had no scientific basis and in reality were based on a £13 American novelty golf ball finder, a court heard.
McCormick, 56, shook his head at the Old Bailey as he was found guilty of three counts of fraud.
Some of the detectors sold for £27,000 each and McCormick is thought to have made around £37million from sales to Iraq alone.
They were marketed to military, police forces and governments around the world using glossy brochures and the internet.
Fantastic claims were made that the detectors could find substances from planes, under water, under ground and through walls, said prosecutor Richard Whittam QC.
The Advanced Detection Equipment (ADE) sold by Advanced Tactical Security & Communications (Picture: SWNS) But, the barrister said, the devices ‘did not work and he knew they did not work’.
‘He had them manufactured so that they could be sold – and despite the fact they did not work, people bought them for a handsome but unwarranted profit.’
McCormick, a former policeman and salesman, told the court he sold his detectors to police in Kenya, the prison service in Hong Kong, the army in Egypt and border control in Thailand.
He said one of them had been used to check a hotel in Romania before the visit of an American president in the 90s.
He said: ‘I never had any negative results from customers.’
Detective superintendent Nigel Rock described McCormick as ‘a conman’.
He said: ‘We have heard evidence from many, many experts, scientists, leaders in their field, who have said this was a fraud. A sham.
‘That device has been used and is still being used on checkpoints. People using that device believe it works. It does not.’
He is due to be sentenced on May 2.
I’d be willing to bet someone caught on when they had to disassemble a unit to troubleshoot a problem and they saw the label for the golf-ball finder underneath.
Ayup. I'd test one of these out on real ordnance before I use it for myself. But I doubt the end users are allowed to get anywhere near a real explosive.
i would imagine what is going to happen to him when he meets a few servicemen who lost buddies due to his scam.
I prefer plain cake.
But I can’t be bribed by food. My boss buys lunch at least twice a month!
And I do get paid an extra 50 cents an hour to spot the scam artists before they are even allowed to try their lines on my busy bosses!
If your butt is on the line, you know better than to blindly trust the government.
If your butt is on the line in business, you know better than to risk your reputation.
We are all involved in one or the other, so it never ceases to amaze me how many people think ethics is somebody elses concern.
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