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Gym boss made £1m dirty cash from selling fat-burning pills he made in his shedJamie George ran what was described as "a significant manufacturing operation" in his garden shed in

Falkirk.NewsTim Bugler04:30, 21 Feb 2025Jamie George leaving court. A gym boss who was jailed for putting fitness fanatics' lives at risk by supplying them with potentially deadly

fat-burning pills made almost a million pounds from his criminal conduct, a court has been told.

But prosecutors have agreed that Jamie George, who ran what was described as "a significant manufacturing operation" in his garden shed in Falkirk, has only just over £30,000 left to be

seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

‌ In July 2023, George, now 33, was jailed for three years at Stirling Sheriff Court over the illegal enterprise. The court heard he had been filling and selling 2,4-dinitrophenol capsules

all over the world.

‌ The court was told that dinitrophenol capsules - commonly known as DNP - is a highly toxic industrial chemical, used in the manufacture of explosives, insecticide, and in photographic

development. A recent trend has seen bodybuilders use it for weight reduction, "fat burning" and body sculpture, often in the days running up to muscle men and women contests.Yesterday

depute fiscal Simona Gersheva said it had been agreed between prosecutors and George's lawyers that the “benefit” he had gained from his illegal activities amounted to £937,635.73. She said

the amount available to be seized was £31,050.31. Ms Gersheva tendered the court a joint minute agreeing these figures.

Sheriff Derek Hamiton made a Proceeds of Crime Act confiscation order for the £31,050.31 figure. After the hearing, which lasted less than two minutes, George, who has now been released from

prison, avoided a reporter's questions.

Asked, “You made nearly a million pounds from crime, but you're paying back only £30,000, have you anything to say?”, George merely shook his head, shrugged, and walked away. James

Moncrieff, prosecuting the case in 2023, said at the time that taking DNP put users at "high risk" of kidney failure, liver failure, coma, convulsions, and cardiac arrest.

Article continues below The court heard that in June 2018, officers from Food Standards Scotland, acting on intelligence, raided George's then home in McNee Place, Redding, Falkirk armed

with a warrant. Mr Moncrieff said: "The floor, walls and contents of the garden shed were all heavily contaminated and stained with a yellow powder."

They found equipment including disposable gloves, a capsule filling machine capable of turning out 100 pills at a time, 10,000 empty capsule shells, nearly £1500 in cash, and scores of

completed Royal Mail Special Delivery slips.

Investigations showed George had been posting supplies to customers as far afield as Asia, Australia and the USA from Laurieston Post Office, Falkirk, where he was a regular customer, as

well as more locally, to fitness fans who met him through his gym or internet chat rooms.

‌ He also advertised online. He was warned to stop, but continued all the same. He was arrested in October 2018 after a further raid on his home in Denny. He told police he was aware that

DNP was classified as a poison and was not safe for human consumption, and he was aware of the dangers of taking it including that the lethal dose is not known.

The court was told that the accounts of the Muscle Hut showed it had an annual turnover of £235,00. Mr Moncrieff said: "A large proportion of that turnover is business related to

supplements, and although a proportion of that is DNP, it is unclear how much."

‌ Another analysis identified the receipt of £50,000 of "suspicious money" over a one year period, though again how much of that was from DNP is unclear. George, a father of three, of Denny,

pleaded guilty culpable and reckless endangerment of life, by supplying the pills over a four year period between May 1, 2017, and October 8, 2021, from three properties in Falkirk

including his two homes.

He was detained after a major criminal probe involving the Food Standards Scotland (FSS), Police Scotland and Falkirk Council, including a 2021 investigation by undercover police.

When he imposed the 37 month jail term, Sheriff Hamilton said George had continued in his activities after he had been told that the pills could have fatal consequences. He said: "You were

well aware of the dangers of DNP. You took no notice of that and continued your trade. All the evidence points to your gain being very significant.

Article continues below "You knew some years ago of the dangers of DNP, but even with that knowledge, you continued to put people's lives at risk." At least 33 people in the UK two of them

in Scotland are said to have died after taking dinitrophenol.

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