Vet gaoled for helicopter fraud

[Flying Lawyer]

from a BBC report

A Northern Ireland vet has been gaoled for 15 months for plotting with border farmers to defraud the MoD of more than £100,000.

At the centre of the scam was a series fraudulent claims for animals allegedly so traumatised by low flying army helicopters in south Armagh that they were driven to their deaths.

After a five-month trial, Fegan was convicted by majority verdicts of 31 charges of conspiracy to defraud the MoD. It was the longest trial in Northern Ireland's legal history. Before being sentenced on Tuesday, he asked for a further 13 charges to be taken into account.


And before you ask: No. I'm happy to say I did not represent him! ;)

[Heliport]

Makes you wonder how often the same thing goes on here with civvy helicopters.

[HeliAviator]

Chaps this has been going on for ages. The number of low flying complaint due to military helicopters is increasing year by year. Some of these are genuine many others are seeking a quick buck from the MOD. We need to train for operations in peacetime, but try explaining that to the public!:(

[Bearintheair]

It's a well known fact in farming circles that only the prize cattle / sheep, best laying chickens etc ever get frightened or killed by helos !!!!

[Max Contingency]

Instructions on how to take the MOD to the cleaners:

1. Buy a farm in South Armargh.
2. Wait for an overflight by a military helicopter.
3. Call for the refrigerated lorry with the frozen dead sheep to be driven across from the South.
4 Lay out the carcusses in on your land.
5 Call local 'onside' vet to certify the animals as dead.
6 Return the carcusses to the South for later use.
7 Submit claim to MOD for an amount just under the threshold for full investigation (approx £5000).
8 Make large contribution to paramilitary organization.


GRRRRRRR:mad: :mad: :mad:

This conviction is not before time.

[paco]

Maybe we should stop pulling their cows out of bogs

Phil

[sling load]

This was a constant problem in my flying too. The question needs to be asked, if 20 or 30 harley davidsons riding past someones farm can be as disturbing as a helo, would the farmer send a claim to the Hells Angels. No way.

Government are soft targets, always will be for these cretins.

[blind pue]

It sounds like anyone with a complaint will go for the easy target. last month I was one of the 'Lotto' Airships and we had numerous complaints from the public, all they had to do was ring up Camelot and voice their opinion.
Obviously with only 4 Airships in the country and all of them bright red with 'Lotto' on the side it was easy for us to be identified, although at some of the timings they gave there were no ships airbourne.
We fly low (1000-1500ft) like most helicopters, and this seems to be the magic height for anyone that feels they need some kind of compensation.:rolleyes:

[Thomas coupling]

In the military we used to dump fuel during practice emergencies to the runway. This fuel was above 5000' and offshore as per crash cards. However, during your next circuit you'd notice several fishing boats steer for the fallout area (even though the fuel had vapourised by then), and claim compensation for damage to their haul/nets. Time and time again. The MOD must be feeding a lot of civvy mouths....

It's not done now...the mil don't have the cash to train their crews in emergency procedures ;)

[ethereal entity]

T-Coupling...enjoyed your post - right up until the last comment. So, the military don't train at emergency procedures? That is perhaps the biggest load of cr@p I have ever read on these forums. As an EX civvie aviator, and now a 14 year RAF pilot, I can assure you that no civvy anywhere is as competant as military crews in the execution of emergency procedures. I fly, on average, about 15 sorties a week. I practice emergencies on every single flight - and I mean all of the emergencies...engine failures, gearbox failures, fires, hydraulic failures...you name it, we do it. Of course, all drills are done, as per RAF regs, from memory. We get them letter perfect every time, just like our memorised checklists. The pilots in the military in general, and RAF in particular, are more ruthlessly proficient at their jobs than anyone else. Fact.

'Spect I'll get a few negative comments, but it don't matter - 'cause my crew know that they can trust me as much as I trust them.

[The Nr Fairy]

ehtereal :

I think you'll find TC was having a laugh. I suspect he's so old he's been doing this lark since you've been dreaming of doing it.

[Fortyodd]

Ethel's real ethnic,

Suggest you take another look at TC's post and check out the meaning of the litte yellow smiley thing;)
For those interested in a little background to the original topic of the post, check out "Bandit Country" by Toby Harnden. Covers the history of the Significance of South Armagh very well. Looking up "Op Saddle" (South Armagh Deception over Deceased Livestock Enquiry) in the index will lead you to the correct chapter.

[Arkroyal]

ethel

You are a bit of a humourless dork, aren't you, and ever such a little bit pompous - 'cause my crew know that they can trust me as much as I trust them.' perlease!

As an ex military pilot who also had little else to do but practice emergency procedures whilst waiting for a real job now and again, it's no wonder we were letter perfect from memory, even when common sense would suggest a crew member reading the drill would have been wiser.

Now... do you think it fair for the bloke who pays hundreds of pounds to sit behind me tomorrow deserves to have us up front pratting about practising what the sim is there for, or just getting him safely and expeditiously to his destination.

14 years in the crabs seems to have swollen your head to fit yer silly chip-bag hat.

I don't know, but I heard it said, Air Force wings are made of lead!:D

[Vfrpilotpb]

Hey Ethel,

Is that why some word perfects fly into hard clouds:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :D

[Thomas coupling]

OOh la la...ethel red the ready...
hook line and sinker as they say in the "senior service".
It was meant to be tongue in cheek...dork, unlike this one:

"You crabs never could take a joke could you"...head in the clouds too often or your head up your crewmembers A** more likely...

:p (this means my tongue is swollen!).

[Scud-U-Like]

Just think of it as another form of farm subsidy. It's no worse than HMG paying a farmer to grow <o<k-all in his fields!

[SHIFTY]

In '97 I took a bloke from Newry SB on an overflight of a farm at Camlough- the farmer had claimed that low flying helos had caused his herd to stampede and jump in to the lough, drowning in the process!

The fact that his farm was 1/2 mile from the lough and seperated from it by 4 stone walls, a ditch and 2 wire fences didn't seem a factor to him- his cows must have been bloody athletic.

Fortunately the video footage and my 'expert' testimony (what do I know about the obstacle course ability of your average fresian?) helped blight his claim- he ended up getting something like 18 months custody for attempted fraud. It transpired that he had already been awarded £100,000 compo from the MOD several years earlier thanks to a 'friendly' vet.

'No claim No blame'.............:)