Famous Counterfeiters

2016 - Innocent Man

2016 – Most recently a man from Port Shepstone in the KZN was interviewed regarding fake notes he had received amongst that day’s earnings. He told reporters that he was only informed that the notes were fake when he attempted to deposit them at the bank. That is why we urge all companies, big or small, to keep a detection lamp at the Point of Sale as an extra security measure.

2016 - Counterfeit Bail Money

In Greensboro North Carolina in the U.S.A, a man tried to pay for his bail with a $100 & $20 counterfeit note found in his wallet. He was charged with possession of a counterfeit instrument or currency.

2015 - A Young Couple Arrested

2015 – A young couple were arrested by Pretoria officials on the suspicion of producing fake notes. Upon investigation, police seized laptops, hard drives, ink and a printer as well as R14 000 made up of one hundred and two hundred rand notes. The couple was charged with production and possession of counterfeit money.

2015 - Money Inside Her Body

In December 2015 a woman was detained for holding counterfeit currency in Fairbanks, Alaska. After being contacted regarding a suspicious $100 dollar note, police discovered $900 hidden inside her body.

2015 - Garbis Aram Krajekian

A man by the name of Garbis Aram Krajekian was caught after over a decade of producing and distributing counterfeit money. He managed to evade authorities by only purchasing small items with his counterfeit hundred dollar bills and receiving the change as profit. He was charged with 1 count of conspiracy, 1 count of laundering monetary instruments, and 21 counts of uttering counterfeit obligations or securities.

2014 - The Hawks Seized R300,000

2014 – The Hawks, South Africa’s Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, seized R300 000 in counterfeit hundred rand notes. The Hawks had received several complaints of suspicious banknotes in the area of Goodwood, Cape Town and managed to close down on the facility moments after a few notes had been printed.

2013 - R940 000 in Counterfeit

2013 – Police received a tip-off about three individuals with counterfeit money in a garage. During their search, officials discovered R940 000 in counterfeit hundred rand notes. Those arrested confessed to not working alone leaving the police still on the hunt for the manufacturers.

2013 - Napoli Gang Caught

Italian law enforcement breaks up a gang of counterfeiters known as the Napoli gang who claim to be responsible for producing up to 90 per cent of false euros in circulation worldwide.

2013 - Increase in Fake Money

In 2013 Investigators with the U.S Secret Service shut down a counterfeit money operation in Indianapolis. During the investigation, officials spent hours removing fake currency, printers, computers and paper supplies from the home and discovered currency in various stages of production. The operation was responsible for a recent increase in fake currency across the state and was caught after months of investigation into the problem.

2012 - Bank Won't Refund

William Hagman withdrew $2,500 from his savings account at TD Bank in February, according to the Star-Ledger. Then he went to Bank of America to deposit the money, only to find out from the teller that one of the $100 bills was counterfeit. He reported it to the Secret Service and went back to TD Bank to get a refund, but the supervisor said that was against the bank’s policy because he had already left the bank, and therefore could not exchange it.

TOP TIP: Always asks banks to scan your money (especially in large amounts) and rather draw from a teller to be sure! These notes can slip through the system.

2012 - Million rand in Counterfeit

In 2012 In Johannesburg, a Bulgarian man was arrested for having over a million rand in counterfeit currency. Officials were notified when his bank picked up some irregularities on his account.

2009 - The Master Counterfeiter

Frank Bourassa, tired of his life of larceny and petty crime, turns to produce money as opposed to stealing it from others. The US $20 note was his denomination of choice and with caution and attention to detail he managed to generate just under $250 000 000. The machinery and gear he used cost him over $300 000 and the search for the correct cotton and linen paper was a tiresome one but this is another example of the lengths someone will go to for a lifetime of generating their own money. His story reads like a fictional tale and it is no wonder Frank Bourassa has been marked as one of the world’s greatest counterfeiters.

2003 - Lima's Underground Counterfeiters

According to a video released by Vice News earlier this year, the first Peruvian made counterfeit dollar was detected in the U.S back in 2003. Since then, the US Secret Service has confiscated millions of US Dollars as well as other currencies from counterfeit rings and producers in Peru, making it the number one producer of counterfeit US dollars in the world. (This is employment to many and at the heart of it all is the city Lima).  Aside from the production of counterfeit notes, there is also distribution, sometimes unintentionally but most of the time a crook trying to cut corners.

2001 - Almost a Super Dollar

Ever heard of the “Super Dollar”? I assure you it is not a terribly named hero but rather a very high-quality counterfeit US dollar so well manufactured that government sources stated they were in circulation from around the 1980s to 2000s. A man by the name of Arthur Williams Jr is said to have created a counterfeit 1996 issued $100 bill, the quality of which was on par with the “Supernote”. Trained at a young age by a counterfeiter who used the ironic alias “DaVinci”, Williams used his skill to create counterfeit notes that could even fool counterfeit detection pens. Like almost too good to be true things, Williams luck came to an end in 2001 when officials busted him and his father and sent them both to prison.

1999 - Exposed by his Own Trash!

Hans-Jurgen Kuhl was a German artist who came from a wealthy family but when his financial situation took a dip he turned to use his artistic ability to create counterfeit US Dollars. Known by his gang associates as “The Dove”, Kuhl was extremely skilled and enticed by the thought of living a life doing what he wanted, not needing to worry about earning legitimate cash. After two years of painstakingly, intricate work producing 30 – 40 million in fake currency a trash worker collecting bags around Kuhl’s factory noticed suspicious paper similar to that of currency and reported it to Germany’s Federal Criminal Police. After being caught, one official told reporters that Kuhl’s notes were “shockingly perfect”.