Counterfeit currency is money that was not printed at the Federal Reserve and is not an official Federal Reserve bank note. Dollars and coins cannot be produced by other organizations and spent in the consumer marketplace. This is illegal and known as counterfeiting. Unless money comes straight from the Federal Reserve, it is considered unusable and illegal. Still, the draw to create counterfeit bills is obvious. Every American wishes that they could produce as much money as necessary to live. When they need cash, everyone wishes that they could simply print off a few extra bills and then head to the store. Unfortunately, this is impossible. In 1913 Congress passed the Federal Reserve Act which declared that America would have a Federal Reserve System and only those who worked at this entity had the right to produce currency. This is the only currency that is manufactured in the United States today.

As a result, anyone who tries to create their own currency or imitate American dollars is subject to serious penalties. Counterfeit currency is considered a federal offense. According to the Secret Service, manufacturing your own currency or altering genuine currency to increase its value is a violation of Title 18 Section 471 of the United States Code and is punishable by a hefty fine. As well, those that are caught counterfeiting can be placed in prison for up to 15 years. Anyone who manufactures a counterfeit coin above five cents can also be subject to these same penalties. Anyone who alters a coin to change its numeric value can be sent to prison for five years according to Title 18 Section 331 of the United States Code.

Some people assume that if they create high-quality fake currency they will be able to get away with their crime. What many of these people don’t know is that the American dollars are highly intricate with all sorts of hidden symbols and images that make them almost impossible to repeat. The Federal Reserve has designed all U.S. currency so that there are special characteristics. For one, only genuine dollars have portraits that appear lifelike and stand out from the background. Counterfeit portraits may appear similar but they are typically lifeless and a bit flat. In addition, on a genuine bill there are saw-tooth points of the Federal Reserve and Treasure seals. On counterfeit bills the saw-tooth points are typically uneven, blunt, or broken. This shows that the bill was not printed at the actual reserve.

In addition, genuine serial numbers have a distinctive style and they are perfectly spaced. The numbers are also printed with the exact same ink as the treasury seal, so they coordinate. Counterfeit fills normally have discolored and unevenly spaced serial numbers. One of the easiest ways to determine whether or not a bill is counterfeit is by looking at the type of paper that it is printed on. Genuine currency paper has tiny red and blue fibers that are embedded throughout. While many money printers will try to imitate these fibers by printing them onto their bills, it is obvious that they are not embedded into the paper. It is illegal to produce the paper that is used to make U.S. currency.

If you have been arrested for possessing or creating counterfeit money, then you need to call a criminal defense attorney immediately to represent you. Maybe you were not aware that the money you are carrying was illegal because you got it from another source. Maybe you were not aware that printing money was such a serious crime. No matter what your situation, you will need a local criminal defense attorney on your side. Contact a lawyer near you today to start fighting this federal crime and avoid 15 years in prison.