Gooding Vincent, Counterfeiting US Currency, New York 2013

Two Men Sentenced for Counterfeiting US Currency in Black Money Scam

BUFFALO, N.Y.—A black money scam, a scheme where scammers attempt to convince unsuspecting victims to provide them with money to purchase chemicals to turn black-dyed paper into authentic US currency, has led to the sentencing of two men in Buffalo, NY.

Gooding Vincent, 38, of Syracuse, NY, and Eugene Cooper, 38, of Buffalo, NY, were sentenced to two years probation by Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder, Jr. after being convicted of using paper as money.

The scam, also known as a ‘Black Money Scam,’ usually involves the scammer convincing the victim that the money, which originated outside the US, was treated chemically and dyed black to sneak it past immigration officials to avoid tax liability.

Vincent and Cooper attempted to use a slightly different version of the scam. According to the defendants, genuine US currency had been obtained from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to fight wars in Africa. The currency had been dyed either black or white to avoid being detected by opposition leaders in Africa and could be restored by simply washing the bills in chemicals provided by the defendant.

On July 8, 2013, the defendants met with a confidential informant to convince them to purchase ‘dirty’ money from them. The informant agreed to purchase $10,500 in US currency that had been dyed either black or white, in return for $10,000. However, the defendants sold valueless black and white banknote-sized paper to the informant for $10,000.

The defendants later admitted to agents working for the US Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security that they had sold black and white banknote-sized paper having no value to the informant for $10,000. Vincent and Cooper admitted to the agents that the informant was led to believe that they were purchasing genuine US currency.

The sentencings are the result of an investigation by the US Secret Service, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Tracy Gast and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, under the direction of James C. Spero.

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