Mother and Son Charged for Allegedly Purchasing Counterfeit Currency Online

In a disturbing case unfolding in Berlin, an 82-year-old woman and her 50-year-old son have been charged with the crime of counterfeiting after allegedly procuring fake currency via an online platform. The pair is accused of ordering counterfeit EUR100 and EUR500 banknotes, which they then allegedly mixed into the cash reserves of a 96-year-old acquaintance under the guise of managing her financial matters.

According to the prosecution, the mother and son reportedly ordered a total of seventy counterfeit EUR100 notes and twenty counterfeit EUR500 notes between December 2022 and January 2023. They then allegedly distributed this counterfeit currency without the knowledge of the elderly woman, who unwittingly handed out a total of EUR1,200 in fake notes to her relatives. The issue came to light when family members attempted to deposit the counterfeit money at a local bank, prompting an investigation that initially targeted the elderly woman herself. However, the case against her has since been dropped.

The charges against the mother and son stem from investigations that revealed the counterfeit currency could easily be mistaken for genuine banknotes during transactions. The exact amount they paid for the counterfeit currency has not been disclosed by officials.

Statistics from the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) indicate that the online sale of counterfeit currency is on the rise, with around 75% of all counterfeit money in Germany being sold via the Internet. This trend aligns with findings from the BKA's 2023 report on counterfeit crime, which highlighted that illegal currency transactions are increasingly taking place through messaging services, specialized trading platforms, and forums within the dark web. Counterfeit notes are typically shipped through postal services, and many of the largest counterfeiting operations are reportedly run by organized crime groups in Italy, distributing their fakes across Europe.

In 2023 alone, Germany recorded a staggering 58,276 cases of counterfeiting, marking a 28% increase compared to the previous year. The states with the highest incidence of counterfeit currency were primarily located in the western part of the country, with Baden-Württemberg leading the statistics and Berlin ranking fifth.