Halton police busted six people for selling $60,000 worth of “film prop money”
Fake Canadian and Australian banknotes, as well as Euros, were allegedly sold through Instagram
The Halton Regional Police Service has laid nearly two dozen charges in connection to an alleged online counterfeit currency ring.
According to a news release published by the HRPS, an investigation, called Project Mirage, was launched eight months ago after the force’s Financial Crimes Unit discovered two public Instagram accounts advertising counterfeit currency for sale.
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The Instagram accounts allegedly advertised bundles of fake cash as being “film prop money.” Orders placed online were shipped to buyers across the country.
Police say $60,000 worth was sold before arrests were made.
In addition to bundles of counterfeit currency, including Canadian and Australian banknotes as well as Euros, the news release said police seized electronics, a gold bar worth $6,500, cocaine, MDMA and Xanax tablets.
Six people, all from Toronto, have been arrested. Charges include fraud over $5,000, uttering counterfeit money, advertising and dealing in counterfeit money and, for two of the accused, a variety of drug charges.
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Carly Lewis is a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Wired, Interview Magazine, Pitchfork, Elle, and Maclean’s, where she is a contributing editor. Her work has been recognized by the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. She reports on city life, culture—including what people do online—politics, art and crime. She received the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for “The Murder of Ashley Wadsworth,” an investigative feature about a Canadian teenager who was killed by a man she met on social media, published by Maclean’s.
