When police in South Strabane Township arrested Samuel Ryan Grimes on suspicion of counterfeiting, his car was loaded with fast food, three $20 bills taped to the glass of a color photo copier and sheets of counterfeit currency, according to federal records.
Grimes, 21, of North Olmstead, Ohio, who was sentenced Dec. 17 on federal counterfeiting charges, fits the typical profile of counterfeiters prosecuted in federal court, officials in Pittsburgh said.
"Generally, counterfeiters today are kids playing around with their computers who get a kick out of passing two or three bills," said Michael Luty, special agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service in Pittsburgh, which is part of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Counterfeiting used to be the domain of master craftsmen using printing plates and offset presses to make thousands and sometimes millions of dollars worth of high-quality counterfeit, Luty said. Now, the advent of home computers, scanners and copiers has resulted in a spate of low-quality counterfeit bills, said U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan.
"About half of the counterfeiters prosecuted in federal court are not very sophisticated," Buchanan said.
Worldwide, there is about $540 billion in legitimate U.S. currency in circulation. For fiscal year 2000, $40 million in counterfeit bills was circulating domestically, said Marc Connolly, special agent for the U.S. Secret Service in Washington. That year, $252 million in bogus bills was seized internationally, he said.
Connolly said the total amount of counterfeit passed in the years since 1995 has remained steady, but the number of counterfeiters has tripled with the advent of easily accessible and affordable home computers and copiers.
"What you have are more people making smaller amounts of currency," Connolly said. "Home computers have democratized the process. People who once had the criminal intent to counterfeit didn't have the means. Now more people with criminal intent can point and click and print money."
In 1995, criminals passed about $40 million domestically in counterfeit with 5 percent, or $2 million, made using home computers and copiers. Last year, about $20 million of counterfeit was made using home electronics, Connolly said.
Counterfeiters who produce low-quality currency often go from one store to another converting one bill at a time by making small purchases. Grimes spent a week traveling between Pittsburgh and Erie, going from one fast-food restaurant to another buying single hamburgers or cokes with fake $20 bills. One such stop Grimes made was to Renee's Hallmark Shop in the Pine Creek Shopping Center, McCandless.
"He came in and bought a card with a $20 bill," said Manager Sandy McStay. The bill was discovered by a bank employee and traced back to Grimes by a store clerk who remembered him giving her a bill that felt unusual, she said.
Grimes was caught with $720 in real currency and 56 fake $20 bills after a suspicious restaurant employee called police. He pleaded guilty in federal court in October. Senior U.S. District Judge Maurice B. Cohill sentenced him this month to eight months' home detention and three years' probation. Grimes did not respond to calls for comment.
Counterfeiting U.S. currency overseas is a much bigger problem than domestic counterfeiting, Luty said. Counterfeiters in countries like Colombia use modern presses to make large quantities of high-quality bills.
In 1999, Buchanan prosecuted two Colombians who traveled to Miami in November 1998, rented a van and went on a monthlong spending spree along the East Coast using fake $100 bills they purchased in their hometown of Cali. A retail clerk called police after recognizing a bogus bill.
Ana Maria Posada, 34, wearing Hush Puppies she'd just bought with a bogus bill, and her companion, Humberto Rivera, 42, were arrested Dec. 15, 1998, at South Hills Village Mall, according to court records. Authorities found $6,000 in good currency, $1,200 in counterfeit and a van full of merchandise and receipts. Both served about four months in jail and were deported.
Stiffer sentencing guidelines went into effect Nov. 1. The guidelines call for a minimum sentencing range of 18 to 24 months. The minimum range had been up to six months.
Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Elliot McLean, who has prosecuted several counterfeiters, said counterfeiters sometimes get around new security features — like metallic ink, microscopic printing and watermarks — by counterfeiting corporate checks instead of currency.
"The future of counterfeiting is in corporate checks. It's easier because checks don't have the same security features and bank employees aren't familiar with each corporate check," he said.
"I haven't heard or seen anything that would suggest we are seeing more counterfeit," said Tom Cook, spokesman for National City Bank.
Edie Clark, spokeswoman for the International Mass Retail Association in Arlington, Va., said its members have not complained about counterfeiting.
"We're really not hearing much on this issue. It's not something our security experts have been asked to study," Clark said.
About one of 10 counterfeiting cases is prosecuted in federal court, Luty said. The rest are prosecuted in state or juvenile jurisdictions.
Federal officials prefer to prosecute repeat counterfeiters, those with other criminal records or those making larger amounts of counterfeit, Buchanan said. Juveniles are prosecuted in federal court only for violent offenses. Counterfeiting is not considered a violent crime, Buchanan said.
Mike Manko, spokesman for Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr.'s office, said counterfeiting charges are classified under forgery. Manko said no one in his office could remember the last time a counterfeiter was prosecuted by the District Attorney's Office.
