Metairie Man Arrested for Illegal Sawed Off Rifle, Sale of Counterfeit Money and Methamphetamine

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA — DAVID OUTLAW, age 32, a resident of Metairie, Louisiana, made his first court appearance on an indictment unsealed today charging him with selling an illegal sawed off 9 mm rifle, counterfeit federal reserve notes and a quantity of methamphetamine, announced U. S. Attorney Jim Letten. OUTLAW was arrested yesterday on a capais issued in connection with the indictment.

The indictment charges OUTLAW with illegally possessing and selling a sawed off rifle, counterfeit federal reserve notes and methamphetamine in November 2011.

U. S. Attorney Letten reiterated that an indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was investigated jointly by Special Agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the United States Secret Service along with detectives from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Kenner Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Tony Sanders of the Violent Crimes Unit.

CBP Officers, Agriculture Specialists in South Texas Seize Large Amounts of Narcotics, Currency, Fake Documents in First Quarter of FY 12

South Texas – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers and agriculture specialists at eight South Texas ports of entry seized a significant amount of narcotics, currency, false documents, and uncovered numerous immigration violations during the first quarter of fiscal year 2012. Fiscal Year 2012 began October 1, 2011 and the first quarter ended Dec. 31, 2011.

CBP officers at eight ports of entry extending from Brownsville to Del Rio in the first quarter of FY 2012 seized 32,472 pounds of narcotics that carried an estimated street value of nearly $74 million. Specifically they seized 31,054 pounds of marijuana, 942 pounds of cocaine, 414 pounds of methamphetamine, 62 pounds of heroin, $2.1 million in undeclared currency, five firearms and 12,640 rounds of ammunition.

South Texas CBP officers in the first quarter of FY 2012 determined that a total of 6,147 non-U.S. citizens were inadmissible to the U.S. due to violations of immigration law.

They made those interceptions while processing 647,000 commercial trucks, 4.7 million privately-owned vehicles, nearly 13 million passengers and pedestrians and 18,168 commercial buses at the ports over the same period.

 “Our frontline CBP officers put forth a strong effort in seizing significant amounts of narcotics, unreported currency, weapons and uncovering immigration violations while processing a significant amount of passenger and commercial traffic,” said Gene Garza, Director, Field Operations, Laredo Field Office. “Their utilization of their training, tools, technology and inspections experience was highly instrumental in achieving our enforcement results in the first quarter of FY 2012.”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

CBP Seizes Rare Coins Determined to be Counterfeit

Chicago – Chicago U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers assigned to the International Mail Branch last week made an interesting discovery of a shipment of U.S. Trade Dollar coins arriving from China.

Suspicion was raised by the officers when they noticed an anomaly on the X-ray of a heavy package intended for a residence in Illinois. Further examination of the package revealed 361 coins that appeared to be U.S. Trade Dollar coins with dates between 1873 and 1878. The original U.S. Trade Dollar coin was minted from 1873 to 1878 and in proof form from up until 1885. Research of collector coins revealed that some of these coins can be sold for as much as $2,000.

A sample coin was turned over to CBP Laboratory and Scientific Services in Chicago for analysis. The result revealed the coins were made of brass with a thin sliver plated coating. Ironically the consignee contacted CBP inquiring about his shipment indicating he was going to sell them on a popular internet auction site. Based upon the laboratory results the shipment was seized.

“Legitimate traders are being duped into buying these coins believing they are genuine,” said David Murphy, CBP director of field operations in Chicago. “We strongly recommend buyers or any consumers to be aware and use caution when making these types of purchases on the internet.”

CBP officers and agriculture specialists are stationed at international mail facilities located throughout the country in major cities. CBP is constantly screening arriving international mail and on the lookout for any type of contraband, counterfeit or prohibited items being shipped to the U.S. which can harm the community or take advantage of the unsuspecting buyer.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

Private Tender: Anti-Government Group Mints Its Own Coins

Money doesn’t grow on trees. It also can’t be printed or minted by private citizens—as four co-conspirators in North Carolina and Indiana recently learned the hard way.

Last month, the founder and “monetary architect” of an illegal currency known as the Liberty Dollar was convicted in North Carolina on federal charges of making illegal coins and selling them—at a profit—to compete with legal U.S. currency. Bernard von NotHaus, of Evansville, Indiana, was found guilty of making coins resembling U.S. coins; issuing, passing, selling, and possessing Liberty Dollar coins; issuing and passing Liberty Dollar coins intended for use as current money; and conspiring against the United States. Three others indicted in the case are awaiting their own trials.

“People understand that there is only one legal currency in the United States,” said Owen Harris, then-special agent in charge of our office in Charlotte. “When groups try to replace it with coins and bills that don’t hold the same value, it affects the economy. And consumers were using their hard-earned money to buy goods and services, then getting fake goods in return.”

It all began in 2004, when our Charlotte Division learned that a customer at a North Carolina financial institution had tried to use silver coins that were not legal U.S. currency. Our investigation revealed that the coins came from the National Organization for the Repeal of the Federal Reserve and Internal Revenue Codes (or NORFED), headquartered in Evansville, whose mission was to return the country’s monetary system to gold and silver. The president of the organization was Bernard von NotHaus, who marketed his currency as inflation-proof, claimed it was backed by silver and gold, and said it could be used to compete with—and limit reliance on—U.S. currency.

Our investigation, which included an undercover scenario, revealed that NORFED contracted for the minting of about $7 million worth of Liberty Dollars in Idaho. The organization also took orders and payments from customers for Liberty Dollars and organized “Liberty Dollar University” sessions to help educate people interested in selling, buying, or using the currency. There was even a Liberty Dollar website.

NORFED used several groups of people to get its illegal coins into circulation:

■Regional currency officers marketed Liberty Dollars in their geographic areas.

■Liberty Dollar associates paid a $250 membership fee and received 100 Liberty Dollars, plus instructions on how to market the currency.

■Recruited merchants and business owners accepted Liberty Dollars in exchange for goods or services and handed out the coins as change.

During the course of the investigation, the U.S. Mint issued a press release warning that the Liberty Dollar was not legal tender and that the Department of Justice had determined that the use of these coins as circulating money was a federal crime. This press release was sent to known NORFED regional currency officers. Despite the warning, though, NORFED and its officers, members, and associates continued to break the law and circulate the illegal tender.

As with many of our other cases, we didn’t work this investigation alone. Providing tremendous assistance was the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Treasury’s Office of Inspector General for Tax Administration, North Carolina Joint Terrorism Task Force, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and U.S. Mint.