US Customs seizes counterfeit US$7k from 64-y-o American arriving from Jamaica
/ Our Today
administratorCBP not releasing the man’s name as he was not criminally charged
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport seized US$7,000 in counterfeit US$100 bills from a traveler who arrived on June 16 from Montego Bay in St James, Jamaica.
CBP said it would not release the man’s name because the 64-year-old US 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 US$100 bills and CBP contacted the US Secret Service, which confirmed that the currency was counterfeit.
“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.”
Keith Fleming, CBP’s acting director of field operations in Baltimore
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.
Fleming wen on to state that, “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 US law.
According to the US 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 the American financial systems.
Consumers and retailers were advised by the Secret Service that they can protect themselves from inadvertently receiving counterfeit currency by learning to quickly identify the security features of authentic Federal Reserve notes.
CBP’s border security mission is led at ports of entry by CBP officers from the Office of Field Operations.
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