Woman Sentenced to 33 Months for Bringing $400,000 in “Supernotes” to the United States

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—Mei Ling Chen was sentenced yesterday to 33 months in prison and ordered to pay a $4,300 fine and $3,200 in restitution for bringing counterfeit United States currency into the United States and spending some of it at local businesses, announced United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello.

Chen pleaded guilty on Nov. 6, 2008. According to the plea agreement, Chen admitted to bringing $400,000 in counterfeit currency into the United States. Chen flew to the United States from Taiwan carrying $20,000 in counterfeit notes on her person. She shipped a box containing an additional $380,000 in counterfeit notes to herself at an address in Sunnyvale, Calif. Upon her arrival in the United States, Chen successfully used some of the counterfeit money to purchase items at stores such as Louis Vuitton, Coach, Foot Locker, and Bath and Body Works, before the counterfeit notes were detected.

Chen, 47, of Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, was indicted by a federal grand jury on July 29, 2008. She was charged with two counts of bringing the counterfeit currency into the United States, and one count of passing the counterfeit currency.

The United States Secret Service determined that the counterfeit notes that Chen brought to the United States belong to a family of counterfeit notes that are often referred to as “Supernotes.” The Secret Service has led a 19 year investigation into the production and distribution of this highly deceptive family of counterfeit notes. First detected in 1989, the Supernote is of such high quality that it often goes undetected until it reaches the Federal Reserve Bank. The investigation into its origin and distribution has been a top priority for the Secret Service. The Secret Service’s investigation has spanned the globe, involving more than 130 countries and resulting in more than 200 arrests.

The Supernotes that Chen sent to herself arrived at the San Francisco International Airport’s Air Mail Center, where United States Customs and Border Protection Officers discovered the notes during a routine inspection. The CBP Officers worked quickly with United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the United States Secret Service to identify Chen as the sender and recipient of the counterfeit notes and to apprehend her.

The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Court Judge White following a guilty plea on one count of violating Title 18, United States Code, Section 472, knowingly bringing counterfeit currency into the United States. Judge White also sentenced the defendant to a 3 year period of supervised release. The defendant has been in custody since her arrest on July 15, 2008, and will start serving her sentence immediately.

The prosecution is the result of an investigation by United States Customs and Border Protection, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the United States Secret Service and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations.

Further Information:

Case #: CR 08-0505 JSW

A copy of this press release may be found on the U.S. Attorney's Office's website at www.usdoj.gov/usao/can.

Electronic court filings and further procedural and docket information are available at https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

Judges' calendars with schedules for upcoming court hearings can be viewed on the court's website at www.cand.uscourts.gov.