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Usually, it is items like jewelry, clothing, or even guitars that counterfeiters try to smuggle into the United States. But not always. Sometimes it’s just straight cash.
That’s what happened recently when U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers and U.S. Secret Service (USSS) agents busted a 26-year-old arriving from Guayaquil, Ecuador with $304,500 in counterfeit United States currency.
According to a CBP press release, “The currency closely resembled legal U.S. currency and will undergo extensive forensic examination. With the increased use of online marketplaces creating more in-person transactions, unscrupulous people could potentially victimize inexperienced sellers or small businesses by using the counterfeit currency during fraudulent purchases or in other financial fraud crimes.”
The U.S. Secret Service reports counterfeit currency is often used to finance illegal activities, including narcotics smuggling, terrorism, and attacks against America’s financial systems.
“The U.S. Secret Service stands on the frontline of protecting our nation’s economy by ensuring the integrity of its currency,” said Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Freaney, New York Field Office. “This counterfeit seizure exemplifies the importance of this work and affirms the need for strong partnerships with agencies like Customs and Border Protection. Together, we will continue to disrupt the kind of criminality that dupes unwitting victims and serves to undermine the nation’s financial well-being.”
Speaking of financial fraud crimes, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced last week that it had indicted nine members of a multi-state money laundering organization in Nashville, Tennessee for laundering millions of dollars derived from internet fraud, including business email compromise schemes.
“As alleged in the indictment, the defendants were members of a long-running money laundering organization operating since approximately November 2016 in and around Tennessee, Texas, and across the country,” the DOJ wrote in a press release.
“The conspirators allegedly structured the organization so that recruiters or ‘herders’ recruited and directed participants or ‘money mules’ to launder money obtained from internet frauds that targeted businesses and individuals in the United States and abroad. The defendants allegedly used sham and front companies to conceal the fraud proceeds and enrich the members of the conspiracy. The conspiracy is alleged to have agreed to launder more than $20 million in fraud proceeds.”