Posted on 03/15/2006 1:37:49 AM PST by MadIvan
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The counterfeit money looked good, but there was one flaw. There's no such thing as a one billion dollar bill.
U.S. Customs agents in California said on Tuesday they had found 250 bogus billion dollar bills while investigating a man charged with currency smuggling.
Tekle Zigetta, 45, pleaded guilty to three federal counts of trying to bring cash, phoney bills and a fake $100,000 (57,000 pound) gold certificate into the United States in January.
Further investigation led agents to a West Hollywood apartment where they found the stash of yellowing and wrinkled one billion dollar bills with an issue date of 1934 and bearing a picture of President Grover Cleveland.
"You would think the $1 billion denomination would be a giveaway that these notes are fake, but some people are still taken in," said James Todak, a secret services agent involved in the probe.
Regards, Ivan
Ping!
I think they are using $1-billion-dollar bills in Zimbabwe these days. No joke.
Naw, it's Nigeria.
"And I'll con them for...one billion dollars!"
"You would think the $1 billion denomination would be a giveaway that these notes are fake, but some people are still taken in," said James Todak, a secret services agent involved in the probe.
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Anyone that stupid would be taken in by Monopoly Money. This dumb-ass should have plead not guilty and claimed it was play money like those $3.00 bills with Clintons picture that went around.
Right... Someone - anyone is going to take a billion dollar bill seriously... Like anyone could make change...
The "bill" is obviously useless. How can it be a crime to have one???
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
The one I have is a six dollar bill...
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
I believe 10 Japanese investors were recently conned out of $125,000 a piece (over a milion total) on some investment scam involving the purchase of a rare and collectible US $1,000,000,000 bill. I am sure they were all the kind that would fall for the Nigerian gag.
Is this the largest $ figure ever confiscated at $250Bn?
Very lame attempt, but in any case it is $250,000,000,000.00
One of my grandsons has the one I had. It was a $3.00 bill.
After reading this I hope he doesn't get arrested.
The $10,000 bill was never in circulation. It was used exclusively by the federal banking system to handle internal settlements in the days before electronic transfers.
Those billion dollar bills are tough to make change for cashiers.
I would say only a handful of New Zealand can answer "Cleveland who?". They may have a large chance of knowing who William Gladstone was, though.
For us to remembering names of 19th century US Presidents after Madison and before Teddy Roosevelt, except Lincoln, would be akin to remembering the names of every Canadian Prime Ministers in the modern era for non-Canadians.
A cup of coffee, please, and break this. It's all I have on me.
How is it even a counterfeit as there is no real one? What is it a counterfeit of? If he tried to "pass" one he would be guilty of fraud, though.
If a billion dollar bill is countereit then so is Monopoly money.
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