Thread: 'Large amount' of new $100 bills stolen in Philly

'Large amount' of new $100 bills stolen in Philly


An Iraqi man counts money behind a pile of American dollars in his currency exchange bureau in Baghdad on April 11.(Photo: Ali Al-Saadi, AFP/Getty Images)

6:09PM EDT October 12. 2012 - PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The FBI is reporting an unusual heist of some newly designed $100 bills that aren't going into circulation until next year.

Agent Frank Burton Jr. says the cash was stolen from a plane that arrived at Philadelphia International Airport around 10:25 a.m. Thursday from Dallas.

Investigators said these Benjamins are easy to spot. The new bills have sophisticated elements to thwart counterfeiters, like a disappearing Liberty Bell in an orange inkwell and a bright blue security ribbon.

The FBI said a "large amount" of bills were stolen, but agents aren't giving specifics.

The theft was reported by a courier service transporting the C-notes when the shipment arrived Thursday afternoon at the Federal Reserve Building in East Rutherford, N.J. Officials then discovered some of the money was missing.

'Large amount' of new $100 bills stolen in Philly

FBI: Phila. baggage worker stole $20K in new $100 bills

Michael Winter


The redesigned $100 bills feature several high-tech anti-counterfeiting measures, including a 3-D security ribbon. (Photo: U.S. Treasury)

9:40PM EDT October 23. 2012 - The FBI on Tuesday arrested a 25-year-old US Airways baggage handler at Philadelphia International Airport for allegedly stealing $20,000 worth of redesigned $100 bills not yet in circulation.

Alex Price, of Philadelphia, admitted swiping the currency after a polygraph, an FBI agent said in an affidavit, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. He then led agents to the new bills, which he had stashed in his wife's car.

The FBI said the money was stolen Oct. 11 from a $3.2 million shipment of new, security-enhanced Ben Franklins being transferred from Dallas to the Federal Reserve in East Rutherford, N.J. When the money arrived at the Fed, one of the 60 packets was opened. The FBI said Price was the only handler who had access to the money.

The redesigned bills feature "cutting-edge" anti-counterfeiting "enhancements" that include a blue "3-D Security Ribbon" and "the Bell in the Inkwell," the U.S. Treasury says.

The new bill was supposed to have been released in February 2011, but the Treasury announced in October 2010 that the Federal Reserve had identified "a problem with sporadic creasing of the paper during printing of the new $100 note, which was not apparent during extensive pre-production testing."

FBI: Phila. baggage worker stole $20K in new $100 bills