In 1993, counterfeit $50 and $100 bills from a single source started appearing in the United States. Eventually, over $1 million of this “funny money” was passed at casinos in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and Connecticut (Foxwoods Casino). Expert analysis determined that a computer system had printed this U.S. paper currency. Prior to the computer age, only skilled engravers and printers could produce counterfeit currency, so counterfeiting was not a common crime. Now, most computer-savvy people could manufacture counterfeit money. The Secret Service, aside from protecting officials, is the law enforcement agency responsible for investigating the counterfeiting of U.S. currency. At the same time, millions of dollars of a “Supernote,” virtually indistinguishable from genuine U.S. currency, also began appearing, resulting in a double nightmare for the Secret Service.
In 1994, a lengthy trial began in New Jersey that targeted the ring that produced those $50 and $100 bills. The trial prosecutor, Howie Wiener, is a member of Penn’s Village. Eight different experts testified and over 10,000 counterfeit bills were admitted into evidence. But a big part of the story is the backstory, about how the computer age and a rogue nation dramatically changed the threat to our country from counterfeit currency. Howie will take you behind the scenes of how that threat was addressed.
Presenter – Howard Weiner is a retired career prosecutor (Assistant U.S. Attorney) with the Department of Justice.