Beware Of Feevr

Well done.

Good on you guys, I respect you chasing the story no matter what. There are plenty of businesses like this in all kinds of industries who sell devices which are not suitable for the task they're marketed for.

I think the simpler moral of this story is not to buy products endorsed by a guy with that kind of haircut. Simple rules to live by, even if he’s just styling it like that because his barber has been closed for over a month.

I cannot understand why Shooter Detection Systems would want to be associated with such an obviously bad product. Are they incapable of doing even a simple evaluation of the product to understand it is useless? Are they so desperate for revenue that they will sell out the trust they have built with customers for a quick buck?

Feevr has no reputation to product in the industry, and when this is over they will likely move on to try and sell snake oil elsewhere, but Shooter Detection Systems will be permanently damaged from the blowback if they really are selling these units to lots of customers.

Feevr's CISO is now falsely alleging:

Falsely claiming, 100% untrue:

But since I have your attention let's discuss what we will not tolerate. Harrasment, Threats, Scams, and Inappropriate and Lewd Advancements to our staff.

You reached out to our female legal counsel unsolicited via a hidden number after we tried to communicate with you many times directly via phone.

Her number was not publically published so you took measures on your own to investigate, conduct OSINT and intimidate a female in efforts to get a story for your blog.

These tactics techniques and protocols that you leverage are illegal, threatening and harassing people for personal agenda without regard for privacy, safety integrity is criminal.

Would a legal counsel really advise their own client to write a cease and desist via email on their own?

You should invite them to the online trade show.

Any chance this guy owns a Tiger?

$20 says his "lawyer" is just another one of his con artist friends with an equally disturbing haircut.

"Thousands of the systems are in use today and one of our Fortune 5 customers just placed a follow on order for 500 more, thus validating it's usefulness."

this is such an obvious straw man argument that it injured my brain reading it.

These guys appear to be very shady. Hopefully the Feds get involved.

And the haircut is just embarrassing.

What on earth does "our product and its capabilities are commiserate with the abundance FDA Approved Thermal Guns" mean?

Commiserate: "express or feel sympathy or pity". Commensurate: "corresponding in size or degree"

Excellent reporting! The USA and the world need more companies like IPVM to root out the scams. Thank you.

But in short, you will see in our legal response there are much more than 1 case.

Much more.

Feevr has uploaded a "justification" of their visual temperature display.

Much of their justification is that there is a "direct" relationship between forehead skin temperature and core body temperature. They cite this 2006 study as a source to justify the delta between the two in this passage:

The feevr unit measures the temperature of the skin on the forehead which is directly correlated to the core temperature, which typically is 3.6°F - 7.2°F (2.0°C - 4.0°C) higher than the skin temperature.

However, read in context, the study says that 2-4° is average, but it can range widely (emphasis added):

Even in a moderate environment, average temperature of the peripheral thermal compartment is 2°–4°C less than core temperature. However, this thermal gradient can range from nearly zero to large values depending on the severity of the environment and the consequent vasomotor responses.

This study was written by two anesthesiologists and was performed on patients undergoing surgery in controlled surgical environments, not in general.

Fundamentally, Feevr also does not explain or justify how they are using a sensor which FLIR themselves has said is not accurate enough for thermal screening (±3°C) and getting accurate results. The FLIR One Pro included with Feevr has a 70mK sensitivity spec, which is quite high compared to others, generally 50mK or 30mK.

Has anything changed with Feevr?

I reviewed it (not tested it) and thought it looked like an effective tool especially if Pre-Check was utilized with actual FDA thermometers to assist employees to check temp prior to entering the building.

I went in knowing all about the articles and bad press they got and came out wondering if the product has actually improved. To some degree it seems improved and as accurate as the Sunnell dual lens camera and much more affordable. All in all I'm not a fan of the skin temp cams but do think if utilized in the right conditions and with the appropriate standards and operating procedures that it can be useful.

Have you revisited the product or is still the same scam?

UPDATE: NY Daily News: "Fraudster posed as four-star Army general while pitching gun-detection app to investors: feds"

Related, here is the criminal complaint:

Update, the criminal case continues, Grand Jury indicted, arraignment done.

The DoJ sent a letter responding to request to modify conditions of bail. Some notable excerpts from the DoJ:

• " The PTS-CDCA report noted that Oberholzer had admitted to an unspecified “criminal history” in South Africa, where he lived for more than 18 years and has extensive family contacts, including his brother and mother. The Government explained to Judge Chooljian that Oberholzer has multiple outstanding warrants for his arrest and for non-appearance in South Africa. At least two different law enforcement agencies (the Directorate for Priority Crimes in the Western Cape Province and the Gauteng South African Police Service) seek Oberholzer in connection with, among other things, schemes to defraud involving the sale of helicopters and other aviation equipment."
• " The defendant presents a substantial flight risk. First and foremost, he has fled court supervision before; the defendant has long known of two outstanding warrants for his arrest in South Africa, based on fraudulent schemes involving the sale of helicopters. Second, based on his purported past work as an international intelligence operative and “smuggl[er],” (ECF No. 1, p. 11 at n. 6), Oberholzer boasts a large network of international contacts as well as close family members who reside abroad, which provide him with a greater ability to flee than most. Third, Oberholzer owns and operates a business that charters, re-sells, and supplies helicopters, and he is an experienced aviator, so it stands to reason that he has the means to flee in ways that would be more difficult to prevent in this case than in others. Fourth, the offense conduct in this case includes aggravated identity theft and the use and abuse of online accounts to create false identities (or assume real ones)."
• "Oberholzer registered a website domain name misleadingly similarly to that of a large West Coast asset management firm (“Asset Management Firm-1”), used that domain name to create an email account for a fake employee purportedly employed by Asset Management Firm-1, and then used Case 1:21-cr-00475-RLC Document 27 Filed 08/20/21 Page 1 of 4 2 the fake identity to try to convince a potential lender that Oberholzer and co-defendant Jaromy Pittario had access to millions of dollars"

Update: U.S. Schools Spent Millions of Dollars on Faulty COVID Scanners and Cameras

Oberholzer seized the opportunity to sell thermal scanners to schools as part of California-based company X.Labs. Partnering with Shooter Detection Systems, a gunshot detection solutions provider, they announced “Feevr,” designed as “a quick and effective AI-based system” for temperature screening with a “proprietary AI face detection algorithm.” According to Feevr’s website—which no longer exists—the product used a thermal imaging camera and AI-based mobile app to create automatic alerts if an individual’s temperature exceeded a predetermined threshold. The Daily Beast has tracked 14 schools that bought these devices...

Now, with little trace of Feevr, X.Labs has pivoted back to selling weapon detection systems to schools—but not with its former partner Shooter Detection Systems. The company told The Daily Beast it had “a short-lived sales relationship with X.Labs which lasted only a few weeks” and “did not recognize any revenue from the relationship.” X.Labs told The Daily Beast that “a secret service agent” had originally reached out to set up the partnership, and that the contract ended when SDS was sold elsewhere.

Oberholzer told The Daily Beast he left X.Labs in January 2021. He seemingly deleted his Twitter account, in which his bio had stated he was the “founder” of X.Labs, straight after The Daily Beast provided a list of questions about his involvement. A spokesperson for X.Labs said that its devices were deployed and are still being used but declined to say which schools were using them. When asked why there is no mention of Feevr on the company’s website, they said that the market needed “change related to temperature scanning hence the board deciding to focus on other products.”

Update: Oberholzer trial now scheduled for May 2023:

Jury Selection set for 5/2/2023 at 09:30AM before Judge Andrew L. Carter Jr. Jury Trial set for 5/2/2023 at 09:30 AM before Judge Andrew L. Carter Jr

Also, Oberholzer announced a patent being awarded - ShoX Announces USPTO Patent Approval For Electric Shock Bullet - EIN Presswire

HEMI Holdings LLC, the developer behind theShoXHEMI projectiles, announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted the company a utility and design patent for their untethered, battery powered electric shock projectile.

"We are pleased that the USPTO has recognized the novel nature of our proprietary technology and are excited about the impact we believe this technology will have in public safety, military deployments and personal use,” said Barry Oberholzer, co-founder of HEMI Holdings and inventor of the ShoX projectile.

The announcement does not mention any Patent number or unique identifier.

Barry Oberholzer has pleaded guilty "to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison." Oberholzer's offering "purportedly could detect concealed weapons" (see the company's marketing video).

Update: Former CEO Of Defense Company Barry Oberholzer Sentenced To 15 Months In Prison For Defrauding Investors And Creditors | United States Department of Justice

Oberholzer's attornies asked for "a period of 9 months’ home confinement". See their sentencing submission.

US attorneys asked for "a sentence at the high end of the Stipulated Guidelines range—41 months." See their sentencing submission.

Separately, in X.Lab's case against us, we won and were awarded $456,467.72. See the court's final judgment.