Bogus bills can fool test
$1M in phony cash seized; cops arrest 8

JASON TCHIR
TORONTO SUN

Phony $10 and $20 bills that pass for the real thing under a black light are circulating across Canada and the United States, Toronto Police said yesterday. "We just don't know how many are still out there," a Bank of Canada spokesman said yesterday after police announced the bust of "the most sophisticated counterfeiting lab we've seen" and the seizure of about $1 million in bogus cash.

Police arrested eight people this month after a four-month investigation -- dubbed Project Greenback -- by the Mounties, OPP, GTA police forces and the U.S. Secret Service. "These are some of the best bills we've seen," said Toronto Staff-Insp. Tony Crawford.

"It was an incredibly sophisticated operation," he said.

Police discovered the ring in January during a raid on a Dennison Ave. shop in Markham that had been receiving stolen furniture.

The counterfeiters were printing bills on ink-jet printers and then touched them up with fluorescent inks so they would pass muster under the black lights that many businesses use to spot fake currency.

However, the bills can be easily identified as fakes because they don't have raised ink, police said.

Likewise, the iridescent seal in the upper left-hand corner doesn't change color from gold to green when the bill is tilted.

Charged with counterfeiting-related offences are: Miroslav Mihalkov, 29, Maria Mihalkov, 29, James Coughlin, 70, Vladimir Jevtic, 35, and Radislav Nedialkov, 49, all of Toronto; and Saro Comert, 20, Elena Todorov, 42, and Ronald Todorov, 20, all of Maple.

Anyone who suspects they have one of the bills, which started showing up around the country before Christmas, should call police.

Police also seized phony credit cards, knives, a handgun and $52,000 in real cash.

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COUNTERFEIT WISDOM

How to tell if your bill is bogus:

• Feel for raised ink on the front of the bill. A real bill should not feel smooth.
• Tilt the bill. The seal on the left corner of $20, $50 and $100 bills should change colour from gold to green when tilted.

-- Bank of Canada