James McCormick British businessman, fraudster Country: Great Britain

James McCormick: The British Businessman and Fraudster

James McCormick, a British millionaire and businessman, earned over $75 million by selling fake devices to governments of various countries under the guise of "substance detection devices". In the early 21st century, McCormick revived the traditions of charlatanism from the past with his bold and audacious invention. He created a small device called the ADE 651, which he claimed could detect any material from a kilometer away, whether on land, underwater, or underground. By simply changing the special cartridges, the device could supposedly search for drugs, currency, gold, and many other substances.

Taking advantage of the rapidly advancing technologies, McCormick found success in a world where miracles were accepted as fact without question. People no longer bothered to understand the mechanism of how devices worked. Unbeknownst to the buyers, the plastic cartridges McCormick purchased from small hardware stores held no actual technology. Another astonishing fact that went unnoticed was that the device claimed to work solely on the "electrostatic energy of the human body" and did not require any charging.

The ADE 651 gained immense popularity, especially among governments, and McCormick found himself becoming famous. The Kenyan police, Hong Kong prisons, Egyptian army, Thai border service, and governments of Saudi Arabia, Georgia, Lebanon, and many other countries purchased the device. Each country had its own purpose for acquiring the ADE 651. In Mexico, it was used to search for drugs at customs, while in conflict zones, it was used to locate and disarm landmines.

Yet, the most astonishing revelation was that tens of thousands of devices, used by highly trained military personnel, were nothing more than slightly modified golf ball finders. McCormick had ordered them from the United States for $20 each, while the final product, the revolutionary ADE 651, capable of detecting substances on land and underwater, cost over $40,000 per unit. According to the creator himself, the high price justified the device's functionality.

Business was booming, and McCormick enjoyed the life of a millionaire. He bought a huge yacht, a house in one of the most famous British resorts, and cared for three horses on which he rode across Britain with his two daughters. What was even more surprising was that representatives of various organizations fell for McCormick's charismatic persona and his portrayal as a "mad professor" and developer of revolutionary devices for the betterment of humanity. This image became well-known thanks to American movies, and none of the clients had the intelligence to question his scientific degree or alma mater.

The United Nations even purchased a batch of these devices but later decided to discontinue their use. It wasn't until several years later that complaints started to emerge. Some customers claimed that the device didn't work, and a hotel employee conducted tests to prove that even at close range, the device couldn't detect gunpowder, well-known drugs, and other substances mentioned in the advertisements. Experts couldn't determine the exact number of victims due to the device, nor could they quantify the amount of drugs that had been successfully smuggled across borders under the false sense of security provided by McCormick's invention.

Officially, McCormick was only arrested in 2010, and he is currently under investigation, awaiting a verdict set to be delivered on May 2, 2013. He claims that he did not receive full payment from all customers, but there is no accurate information regarding the balance of his bank accounts. At present, James McCormick is under house arrest in his home in England, while ADE 651 devices, the toys that fooled almost all the world's intelligence agencies, remain in service with various police forces and armies around the world.