A brazen case of counterfeit money laundering has rocked South Florida, with a 35-year-old man pleading guilty to using fake currency to buy items and gamble in Broward and Palm Beach Counties.
Bernardo Lecaros, a resident of Pompano Beach, Florida, used counterfeit money to pay for items he purchased and to gamble, according to court documents.
On December 10, 2014 and again on December 14, 2014, Lecaros unlawfully used $5,400 in counterfeit currency in order to gamble at the Seminole Classic Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
During the course of the investigation, Lecaros was also found to have possessed an additional $37,800 in counterfeit currency.
On March 3, 2015, Lecaros used $300 in counterfeit currency to make additional unlawful purchases at a luxury department store located inside the Palm Beach Gardens Mall in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Lecaros was also found to be in possession of an additional $31,500 in counterfeit currency.
According to U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer, Lecaros faces up to twenty years in prison for each count of possessing and passing counterfeit currency, and up to five years in prison for the conspiracy to possess and pass counterfeit currency charge.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney’s Randy Katz and Lauren Jorgensen.
Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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