A Vancouver, Washington, man has been dealt a federal prison sentence for duping numerous law enforcement agencies and the U.S. Military with subpar ballistic protective gear, sourced from China no less, authorities announced yesterday. Jeffrey Meining, 42, operated "BulletProof-IT," a firm which, for years purported to supply top-notch ballistic equipment including vests, helmets, and shields – all of which were actually far below the safety and performance standards they promised.
Meining was handed a 12 months and one day stint in the big house followed by three years’ On Ice for supervised release. Court papers detail a lengthy scam starting back in 2016 and persisting until 2022, wherein Meining blatantly lied about the origin and quality of his merchandise, peddling them to state, local, federal agencies alongside fire departments and even the U.S. Military as per a Justice Department release.
False advertising was the name of the game for "BulletProof-IT." On the company's website and numerous business documents, Meining claimed the gear was made on American soil. Instead, scores of it were manufactured in China, and not up to snuff with the stringent standards set by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ). In one shifty deal back in December 2017, Meining acquired a batch of 600 helmets from China for a smidge over 50 grand, flipping them for $90,000, to a reseller that then supplied them to the Department of State for a cool $107,994.
