A plant scientist has detailed his role in exposing a conman who amassed over £1 million by selling counterfeit Scottish tea to luxury hotels and department stores. Professor David Burslem of Aberdeen University assisted victims in bringing down Thomas Robinson, who operated under the company name The Wee Tea Plantation.
Robinson purchased tea grown internationally, then repackaged and marketed it as originating from Scotland. He leased land near Loch Tay in Perthshire to lend an air of authenticity, supplying establishments like The Balmoral in Edinburgh. He even falsely claimed that tea supplied to The Dorchester in London was a favorite of the Queen.
The conman also sold approximately 22,000 imported tea plants to over a dozen growers in Scotland and one in Jersey, marking them up from £2.50 each to £12.50. When growers became suspicious of the tea's origin, they sought the expertise of Professor Burslem.
Professor Burslem developed a method to test the geographical origin of tea by analyzing the concentrations of elements absorbed by plants from their soil. His comparative analysis of Robinson's product against genuine Scottish teas and foreign samples revealed the tea's foreign composition. "The samples that were supplied from Tam O'Braan's facility were chemically different from the authentically grown Scottish teas," Burslem stated, referring to one of Robinson's aliases.
Further tests were conducted by Burslem for Food Standards Scotland, which initiated an investigation into Robinson's operations. Robinson employed tactics to disguise his fraud, including having foreign tea delivered to a Glasgow mailbox and using a private bank account for payments. When a buyer from Fortnum & Mason expressed interest in visiting, Robinson reportedly planted tea from Sussex in pots to simulate local cultivation.
Robinson, who also went by the names Thomas O’Brien and Tam O’Braan, was found guilty of defrauding tea growers of £274,354 and hotels and tea companies of £278,634 between 2014 and 2019. A proceeds of crime hearing in March revealed his total criminal gains to be £1,068,000. His fabricated persona included claims of being a multi-millionaire, a polymer scientist, an inventor, a former British Army bomb disposal operative, and an administrator in the Barack Obama administration.
Robinson was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison at Stirling Sheriff Court in June of the previous year. His case was featured in an episode of the BBC documentary series "Expert Witness."