Albert Talton's wild ride: Lessons from a $7 million dollar counterfeiter!!!

When Albert Talton decided to print some of his own money, he had no experience in counterfeiting, printing, or graphic design. A career criminal with a curious and meticulous nature, at the time Talton didn't even own a computer. His first batches of fake bills were created using a standard HP desktop printer. And they weren't very good. Yet, according to a story by Men.style.com, Talton soon became one of the most accomplished and prolific counterfeiters in the history of the U.S. Over the course of three years, Talton managed to evade capture and print $7 million worth of $100 bills. His team used garden variety laser printers, computers and imaging software to circumvent sophisticated anti-forgery technologies built into every bill. The case illustrates how technology has made it much easier to commit high crimes with tools available at a typical consumer electronics store.

Every week or so, Talton picked up new printer cartridges from his local Staples store, dropped off his empty cartridges at the store's recycling bin, and even used a rewards card to collect points to use for future purchases. On May 15, he was finally caught with five accomplices, according to Coin News. During his counterfeit spree, Talton spent lavishly on expensive home audio equipment and exotic cars, including a $140,000 Mercedes Benz. He also became one of the most wanted men by the U.S. Secret Service, the government agency that polices counterfeiting, one of only two crimes mentioned in the U.S. Constitution. Talton learned how to emulate the precise look and feel of U.S. currency. His bills first caught the notice of the U.S. Secret Service in June 2005. Talton initially started spending the bills himself at large chain stores to avoid detection. He later enlisted accomplices to help him print and sell the bills to intermediaries who then resold the bills to others. His bills were so good that Talton and his crew could not keep up with demand. But his capture was probably inevitable. Talton's organization did little to hide its identity. After shoppers at an H&M Store were busted for trying to pass off the bogus bills, they were able to point the authorities to people who were working directly with Talton. The whole scheme quickly unraveled. On August 11, 2008, Talton pled guilty to charges of conspiracy and manufacturing counterfeit notes. He was later sentenced to nine years in federal prison.

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