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STERLING, Va. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers saved some potential victims from a financial fraud scheme after officers discovered $28,500 in “black money scam” notes in the baggage of a traveler on Thursday at Washington Dulles International Airport.
Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police officers charged Tuma Thierry Henry, 50, of Indonesia, on felony forgery charges (VA Code 18.2-171).
Black money scam paper resembles U.S. currency in size and sometimes in feel, but are visibly black, blue, or white sheets of paper. A currency denomination may be visible under black or ultraviolet light.
In a black money scam, criminals tell a story of chemically altering or dying the currency notes to evade detection by customs authorities. The criminal then tells of needing cash, offers to sell these notes at a discount, and explains how a victim can “wash” the color off the notes to reveal actual U.S. currency. Criminals may comingle authentic currency with the black money to further convince victims. The black notes are counterfeit.
Henry arrived at Dulles airport on Wednesday night aboard a flight from Lome, Togo. During a secondary baggage examination, CBP officers discovered two bundles of blank black paper, and one bundle of blank white paper each wrapped in bands labeled as “One Hundreds.” Officers counted a combined 285 pieces of paper in those three bundles. The paper size closely resembled U.S. currency notes.
CBP officers viewed those notes under ultraviolet light and noticed good quality likenesses of the front and back images of a U.S. $100 bill.
CBP officers seized the illicit currency notes and turned the notes and Henry over to Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police officers.
Criminal charges are merely allegations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
“The public should be reminded that unscrupulous criminal organizations continue to operate financial schemes such as this black money scam to deceive, defraud, and victimize U.S. citizens,” said Marc E. Calixte, CBP’s Area Port Director for the Area Port of Washington, D.C. “Customs and Border Protection officers remain steadfast in our mission to protect American citizens by detecting and intercepting bad actors involved in transnational financial fraud schemes and working with our law enforcement partners to bring them to justice.”
CBP’s border security mission is led at our nation’s Ports of Entry by CBP officers and agriculture specialists from the Office of Field Operations. CBP screens international travelers and cargo and searches for illicit narcotics, unreported currency, weapons, counterfeit consumer goods, prohibited agriculture, invasive weeds and pests, and other illicit products that could potentially harm the American public, U.S. businesses, and our nation’s safety and economic vitality.
See CBP’s enforcement stats to see what other dangerous drugs CBP is encountering at our nation’s borders. See what CBP accomplished during “A Typical Day” in 2023. Learn more at www.CBP.gov.
Follow the Director of CBP’s Baltimore Field Office on Twitter at @DFOBaltimore for breaking news, current events, human interest stories and photos, and CBP’s Office of Field Operations on Instagram at @cbpfieldops.