Under the circumstances, a ten year sentence is pretty lenient:
Fraudster James McCormick has been jailed for 10 years for selling fake bomb detectors.
McCormick, 57, of Langport, Somerset perpetrated a “callous confidence trick”, said the Old Bailey judge.
He is thought to have made £50m from sales of more than 7,000 of the fake devices to countries, including Iraq.
The fraud “promoted a false sense of security” and contributed to death and injury, the judge said. He also described the profit as “outrageous”.
Police earlier said the ADE-651 devices, modelled on a novelty golf ball finder, are still in use at some checkpoints.
Sentencing McCormick, Judge Richard Hone said: “You are the driving force and sole director behind [the fraud].”
He added: “The device was useless, the profit outrageous, and your culpability as a fraudster has to be considered to be of the highest order.”
One invoice showed sales of £38m over three years to Iraq, the judge said.
The bogus devices were also sold in other countries, including Georgia, Romania, Niger, Thailand and Saudi Arabia.
