Skip to main content

Customs: Ultraviolet light reveals the true color of fake money in an arrest at Dulles

A traveler from Indonesia has been arrested on felony forgery charges after arriving at Dulles International Airport on Wednesday night with what U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials say were “black money scam” notes.

Tuma Thierry Henry, 50, had arrived at Dulles from Togo when officers discovered $28,500 in fake cash that had been dyed black in his baggage. Henry now faces felony forgery charges.

In a “black money scam,” criminals say they’ve dyed currency notes to evade detection by customs authorities. Then, they offer to sell the notes at a discount, and explain how a victim can “wash” the color off of the notes to reveal actual U.S. currency. (Credit U.S. Customs and Border Protection)

Lauren Colgan, assistant port director with CBP, says victims are often approached overseas, and offered what they are told is U.S. currency that’s been dyed black so that it can be brought to the U.S. undetected.

For example, said Colgan, the victim is told that they can purchase $50,000 in U.S. currency for $40,000.

“And then what they’ll do is they’ll either sell the victim additional chemicals or coach them how to wash the currency to ‘reveal’ the allegedly authentic currency. And by the time the person realizes they were scammed, that fraudster is in the wind,” Colgan said.

In Henry’s case, CPB officials said that officers scanned the notes under ultraviolet (UV) light and found, “good quality likenesses” of the front and back images of U.S. $100 bills, according to a press release.

Colgan said it’s important for travelers to take extra precaution when approached about money inside of an airport: “Be aware of your surroundings, try to know who you’re talking to. If something sounds too good to be true, it most likely is.”

Former Brazilian au pair testifies her ex-lover plotted to kill his wife, though lacks some details

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — A former Brazilian au pair testified on Wednesday that she turned against her former lover in a sprawling double homicide scheme involving his wife because she “wanted the truth to come out.” For more than a year, Juliana Peres Magalhães did not speak with officials about the 2023 killings of Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan, or about Brendan Banfield’s alleged involvement. But attorneys say that days before her own criminal trial, the former au pair changed her mind and began to talk. Now, Brendan Banfield is facing a trial in the aggravated murder of his wife and Ryan, and Magalhães’ testimony has become a key component of prosecutors’ case. Banfield, who has pleaded not guilty, could face life in prison if convicted. The way officials tell it, Banfield and Magalhães lured Ryan to their house. The two then shot him, staging the scene to look as if Ryan had been a predator stabbing Christine Banfield.
Read Next Story