Say what you like about Sterling Void – and this website most certainly does – but the one thing you cannot deny is that he’s an equal opportunities scammer. Whether you’ve been in the industry for 30 minutes or 30 years, he’s more than happy to see you as a chance to make ill-gotten gains.

Ask James Sammon. He’s been in the industry for 30 years. His story begins in 2010, with his full permission for me to write all about it.

He wrote a song and found a then unknown singer called Malisha Bleau to record it. Studio time, photo shoots, remixes – they were all paid for. Such is what happens when working with professionals who understands its importance.

The song was called “So In Love”. It did well, particularly in the bass scene in the north of England. I have many friends from that area of the world, and I do remember a few of them really got behind it. Sammon was not traditionally known for his work in this genre, so Malisha Bleau fronted the single.

The song did well, and Sammon got to work on a follow-up – but he wanted this one to get the attention of 90s house fans. So what better than getting a name from back in the day involved?

Sterling Void was duly contacted and agreed to do a remix for him. After some discussions about what Sammon wanted in the remix, they agreed to a fee of $500 on receipt of a remix that he was satisfied with.

What Void delivered – and this website’s meticulous chronicling of Void’s activities suggests he almost certainly did not do the work himself – was of poor quality. Sammon described the work to me as:

“Weak sounding drums, terrible production and over produced. It had one good thing some and that was some decent keys”.

Several requests for Mr Void to make changes to his remix were rebuffed. Sammon refused to pay Void on the grounds he didn’t deliver what was promised. Seems fair, right?

Void thought otherwise. Sammon went online one night and discovered that Sterling Void and Malisha Bleau had taken Sammon’s record, commissioned a different mix and then released it himself as his own work. Wouldn’t be the first time eh, Duane?

And here’s where things get really weird. Some 18 months later, James Sammon was talking to no less than Frankie Knuckles. Knuckles spoke about his recent production work for Chaka Khan new album. The topic moved onto the remix that Sterling Void had done.

Sammon replied in the negative when asked if he liked it, but claimed he did like the keys on it. Knuckles laughed.

It transpired that the keys had been played by none other than Frankie Knuckles himself..

Want to read about more of Sterling Void’s scams? Click here and get ready to weep.