Chicago Authorities Seize $685K In Fake Money

Authorities seized about $685,000 of counterfeit money in Chicago.

It happened between Saturday (May 15) and Monday (May 17). U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers intercepted two dozen packages containing the fake currency. Authorities process more than 57 million packages each year and typically seize about 40 to 50 packages of “illegitimate goods,” according to a press release from the agency issued Tuesday (May 18). Those goods include medications, narcotics, jewelry, electronics and others.

The shipments with $685,000 in counterfeit money all came from China and were headed for different U.S. cities, including in Illinois and Indiana. The counterfeit money came in the form of $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 bills, apparently to be used as prop money (though it it violates federal law to reproduce currency). It was all handed over to Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Secret Service to investigate, the release states.

“Our CBP officers are always on the alert watching for any type of prohibited shipments that come through the IMF,” Shane Campbell, Area Port Director-Chicago, said in the release. “By stopping these shipments we are protecting our financial institutions, businesses and the public.”

Find more information here.

Photo: U.S. Customs and Border Protection