U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport seized $7,000 in counterfeit $100 bills from a traveler who arrived on June 16 from Montego Bay, Jamaica.
CBP is not releasing the man’s name because the 64-year-old U.S. citizen was not criminally charged.
CBP officers discovered the counterfeit currency concealed in a sneaker in the man’s baggage during a routine secondary examination. The currency closely resembled actual $100 bills. CBP contacted the U.S. Secret Service who confirmed that the currency was counterfeit. CBP officers seized the fake $100 bills and released the traveler.
“Law enforcement knows that counterfeit and fictitious bank notes have been used in financial crimes, especially ones that target our nation’s unwitting seniors, some of whom have lost their entire life savings,” said Keith Fleming, CBP’s Acting Director of Field Operations in Baltimore. “Customs and Border Protection is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to combat illicit efforts that target our citizens, businesses, and the security of the United States economic system.”
The United States places legal restrictions on the reproduction of banknote images and those who attempt to pass these fictitious notes as legal tender face consequences under U.S. law.
According to the U.S. Secret Service, counterfeiting currency is a lucrative business and is often used to finance illegal activities, including financial fraud, narcotics smuggling, terrorism, and attacks against our nation’s financial systems.
Consumers and retailers can protect themselves from inadvertently receiving counterfeit currency by learning to quickly identify the security features of authentic Federal Reserve notes.
