South American cartels linked to counterfeit bills in Athens, again
Funny money continues to find its way into the States from (far) south of the border
- http://clatl.com/atlanta/ImageArchives?by=1223504
- Quinn Michael Gibson
An Athens man plead guilty last week to smuggling more than $14,000 in counterfeit bills from Ecuador to Georgia, offering a glimpse into a South American counterfeiting scheme that continues to flood the United States — Georgia included — with fake currency.
The 24-year-old suspect’s guilty plea in federal court Wednesday was the latest in series of Georgia convictions involving phony Federal Reserve Notes, or FRNs, over the past few years, the Athens Banner-Herald reported.
Last year, authorities in Athens broke up a smuggling ring that flooded the area with fake $100 bills during Fourth of July weekend, when busy cashiers would be less likely to look closely at the bills.
In both cases, the production of the fake cash was traced back to organized crime families in Peru.