Forensics Journal - Stevenson University 2013 | Page 19

STEVENSON UNIVERSITY

The above cases illustrate the financial transaction aspects of the
insertion of Supernotes into the U.S. financial system. In each case,
the counterfeit bills were integrated via a monetary transaction to
effectively exchange Supernotes for real currency. This highlights why
financial forensic investigations are important; once the counterfeit
notes are detected, the transaction can be traced backwards to identify the source. In Chen’s case, Secret Service agents were tipped to
the Supernote smuggling via a U.S. Customs search of an incoming
package (Rose, 4). Once she was arrested, the Secret Service conducted a financial investigation, analyzing her spending patterns, to
identify her integration of counterfeit notes (Rose, 4). In the case
involving Liu’s use of casinos, financial investigations played a large
part in his identification. The Secret Service identified a large influx
of Supernotes occurring at Las Vegas casinos via “intelligence reports”
(Rose, 3). As discussed earlier, the Bank Secrecy Act requires casinos to report certain information, including the filing of Suspicious
Activity Reports and other paperwork identifying cash transactions,
such as CTRs (U.S., Internal Revenue Manual, 9.5.5.3.3.1). Once
law enforcement agencies identified a place being used to introduce
Supernotes, financial analysis of individuals spending cash could help
identify who utilizes cash and where. Further investigation of casino
player accounts could identify a trove of information. Traditional law
enforcement techniques,