Chapter 1: What outrageous claim did Jim McCormick make about his gadget?
I've got a darkly comic but deadly tale to tell you. This is a story about a lie. A lie so big that it likely cost countless lives and turned con artists into multi-millionaires.
People are reliant on this to save lives and save their own life.
It's also about what happens when you're forced to confront that lie and destroy your oldest friendship. At the centre of this story is Jim, gift of the gab wheeler-dealer turned mastermind of this audacious con, and his long-time pal and business partner, Steve. This scam isn't like the ones that you've heard before, targeting vulnerable people.
This one fooled governments and security services around the world, people who should definitely know better.
How can you go out there and say to people, keep using these devices, knowing that people are dying every day? I just don't understand how you can do that.
Incredibly, Jim convinced them that a cheap golf ball finder sold as a stocking filler was in fact a world-class, life-saving bomb detector. He used pseudoscience to fool extremely powerful people.
You pull out the area of the device and you flick your wrist and it just moves whichever way you want it to. And you just think, no, seriously, come on. There's something absolutely horrific about the idea that was originally sold almost as a stocking filler, $10 or $20. Something that didn't work at detecting golf balls is now being used to protect the population of Baghdad.
With bribery and corruption on his side, Jim made an obscene fortune. I'm talking lavish homes, a yacht, even a house from Nicolas Cage.
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Chapter 2: How did Jim McCormick's con deceive governments and security forces?
When all the warnings had been there for such a long time, how was it that no one acted to shut this down? What would you do if the person closest to you had manipulated you and others for years?
Would you turn them in?
There's detectives and even some police at the house with a warrant. They said, we're going to arrest you.
Even if doing the right thing put your life on the line. I'm Alice Levine. From Global and Forest Sounds, this is Explosive Lies. You can listen to each episode for free on Global Player. Download it from the App Store or head to globalplayer.com.