INTERVIEW WITH COUNTERFEITER FRANK BOURASSA

In May 2012, the Canadian police seized $1 million worth of fake US $20 bills and arrested four suspects in Trois-Rivières, Quebec.

The officers on the scene were immediately struck by the quality of the counterfeit notes.

"It's highly sophisticated, no doubt about that," Sgt. André Bacon of Canada's federal police force, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, told CBC news at the time.

The police described the fake notes as "virtually undetectable to the naked eye," according to an archived press release from 2014. As well a looking just right, the counterfeit 20s felt identical to real notes, and they came with a "dark vertical stripe" that perfectly imitated the security thread on the real bills. The way banknote paper feels is a large part of currency security — it is made in only one mill, which makes only money.

Local man François Bourassa was immediately charged with the "production, possession, and distribution of counterfeit currency" and is the only suspect named in the CBC report.

Because of the remarkable quality of the counterfeit cash, the police assumed it was the work of a large and sophisticated criminal gang. Perhaps that's one reason that Bourassa served only six weeks in prison and paid a fine of about £1,000, or $1,300 at today's exchange rate, after handing in $200 million in counterfeit $20 bills before facing trial.

Bourassa says he made $250 million worth of fake notes. He is often asked where the other $50 million is. The missing stack of bills weighs about 2.5 tonnes (about 2,500 kilograms, or 5,500 pounds) and if stacked one by one would reach 250 metres, or about 820 feet.

"You would have to ask my accountant about that ... it implies complex mathematical questions," Bourassa, who refers to himself as the "Counterfeit God," told Business Insider.

Frank was supplementing his savings by getting involved in the booming illegal marijuana trade. This came to an end in 2006 when Frank was convicted on a drug-related charge and incarcerated for three months.

In 2008, as a free man able to go on long drives again, Frank had the epiphany he had been waiting for:

"It occurred to me at a red light: Why the hell go through all this hassle of finding product, selling it, finding customers, accounting, and all of that trouble, to bring it back as money?"

"I loved money so much I decided to make my own," he said.

"I figured it was going to be very hard, but it was never daunting," Frank said. "I've been engineered from birth to find solutions for anything."

Frank settled on the $20 bill. It is less suspicious than the $50 or $100 notes. Its design at the time was older, with worse security features than the $10 bill. He did his research by moving between various internet cafes in Quebec, not wanting to draw attention to himself in any one location.

There were two major stages to the printing process. First, Frank had to source the paper used in US bank notes — a blend of cotton and linen that is unique to currency producers in the US. Second, he had to buy the very expensive printing equipment and software.

Frank said ordering the paper was a "huge undertaking" and probably the toughest part of the process.

To read the complete article, see:
We talked to the 'God' of counterfeiting who printed $250 million in fake cash — and got away with only 6 weeks in prison (www.businessinsider.com/frank-bourassa-on-how-he-counterfeited-250-million-2016-8/#-1)

To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
COUNTERFEITER FRANK BOURASSA (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v17n21a30.html)
MASTER COUNTERFEITER FRANK BOURASSA (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v17n45a30.html)

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