The Hunt for the King of Counterfeiting
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ต.ค. 2024
- Dive into the extraordinary life of Frank Bourassa, the audacious counterfeiter who printed $250 million in fake U.S. currency. A thrilling tale of deception, meticulous planning, and international intrigue unfolds!
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criminals: crime doesn't pay
Frank: skill issue
Johnny Dangerously: Well, it paid a little
What it should be is in crime you won’t last long. But you definitely do make money or wouldn’t have these many stories about these many criminals amassing crazy amount of wealth.
@@anewdayali2538you can last, if you are really careful. But risk averse people in general don't turn to crime.
His amazing ability to counterfeit money is nothing compared to his ability to navigate the legal system.
With lots of money, you can find a way.
You know why they can afford to let Frank go away? In comparison the Fed printed trillions via QE so what Franks did literally didn't made any impact
@@kwantatorlegal tender versus counterfeit tender are two very different topics. just because you're upset about economic policy doesn't mean it applies here.
@@kwantator Exactly. As long as our currency system is run by psychopath elites and not backed by gold, I have a hard time seeing Mr. Frank as a criminal. His only real "crime" was moving in on the crimes of the ruling class, and their banksters.
😅@@kwantator
What a legend! This guy not only made the biggest amounts of counterfeit money ever, but he also made an elaborate system of protected steps and an amazingly clever defense argument to protect himself.
The twist? The farmer knew all along what Frank was doing, printed his own money when Frank wasn't around, and is now living it up on his own private island.
That would be the true legend
Movie plot right there… Farming Bill$.
He could have gotten Epsteins island for cheap.
He'd be the true mastermind
That's where the other $50 million really went
I can't like this guy enough. Crafty AF, willing to put in the research, work, caution and patience, fully aware of the risk, but unwilling to let anyone else be harmed for his choices. More legit than governments who print real money.
EDIT, or rather an asterisk* -His girlfriend was harmed. She had to go through the shock and grief of finding out her beloved was living a double life and lying the whole time, and losing the life she thought she had with him. Now I'm embarrassed it took me 2 days to realize that, because the same thing happened to me.
You didn't think through this comment the way Frank thought through his crime...
@@raylopez99Well I wasn't trying for hundreds of millions of dollars, so ....
She got ya there ray
She must have known he was up to something, though... Out all night? Constantly grafting? With his record? He either told her one hell of a cover story (which would have been hurtful, if he'd lied to her), or she didn't ask questions. Most people tend to do the latter because they know it'll be dodgy and don't want to make awkward choices.
I think it's reasonable, though, to think that he was protecting her. He cooperated with police to keep her out of trouble and stop them trying to take her home, and it is one of the few cases where telling her could make her criminally liable, whereas keeping her in the dark would protect her. Same goes for the farmer. He must have known something was amiss but didn't ask questions, and so Frank protected him, too. His behaviour towards them both makes him sound like one of the old school criminal to me, from back when they lived by a code, because he won't allow those not involved in that life to be used as scapegoats or harmed by it.
Women like you always like to pretend you didn’t know. It’s ridiculous really. Double life? Only if you ignored every red flag.
Fun fact. Because of Frank; The Bank of Canada realised just how easy it was to counterfeit American notes and changed its suggested regulation when accepting American notes as tender for Canadian businesses. We used to just accept American and give an exchange rate (their dollar was usually stronger) pretty much everywhere and without much thought of treating it different from Canadian notes (check anything over a $50 note). After Frank though the Bank of Canada put out warnings to all businesses to check anything larger than an American $5 note or just stop taking American notes all together due to them being so easily counterfeited compared to Canadian notes and other International Currencies.
Nice why did they change the rules to blowjobs?
Yep and the also re affirmed the legal status that both seller and buyer need to agree on the tender. So in Canada there is absolutely no obligation for a business to accept say a $20 bill. And as a buyer you can insist on all change being say$5.00 notes. If both parties do not agree then the transaction can be cancelled without prejudice
Thank you for sharing this information with us. Very cool!
@@bradlevantis913 - Is this with Canadian money?
This is why the us 100$ bill has over 8 dollars in security features. Not only do Americans pay the cost to make the bills, thry are received at intrest. Meaning if we ever just gave it all back, The American people would owe beyond every dollar in existence to be free of debt. This is why the brix exists.
Okay... I know I shouldn't be rooting for this guy, but how can you not?
Oh hello there!
@@IntotheShadows Hi friend! Great work as always!
It's the fact that living legally was killing him. Hard to criticise a guy for not going along with a system that is killing them
Amazing how Frank had all these plans to get the paper, the printing press and even how to get out of trouble if he was caught BUT... never had a real plan to sell the fake money. Reminds me of these elaborate prison escapes where the inmate just goes back home and is caught later that afternoon.
Or that scene from Breaking Bad where they are trying to figure out, Walter and his wife, what they are going to do with a room full of money.
He wasn't looking to get rid of the money just make his own lol
Tunnel vision
"Catch Me If You Can 2" it needs to be made, and this story is it!
"Catch me IF you Can," Canadian style...😂
I swear, needs to be made
I agree. I liked the concept..but didnt really like the Leo Dicaprio movie.
Turns out that the story told in CMIYC is not true. Frank Abignail forged a couple of grand in Pan Am checks, got caught easily and was actually in jail for most of the time covered in the story. The fraudsters story was.... fraudulent
It is just a very rare moment in history that such a finely written script, and even finer narration of it comes to pass, this episode should make Simon proud, and make him and his team feel that all their hard work and efforts, were truly worth it!!!
Now, coming to the protagonist, Frank. I will put my appreciation of this point - wise, so that I can do justice to him.
Point A - The method - here in lies a tale of methodical planning, suffering from failure and getting bogged down by refusals, but still getting up again, brushing aside frustrations and the overbearing fear of getting caught by the law, but still persevering for the cause. Mind you, he tried being clean inspite of having a crooked mind, but mind you again, in his school days he just wanted to make money and be independent.
Point B - The effort - Frank proved what others wish to have, but fail on hitting the first roadblock, tenacity!!! As mentioned earlier, his attention to details should be taught in modern day legal business schools, and should be a Class 1 must read and must pass course subject for wannabe criminals, who just know how to flex muscles and flash a gun, to terrorize people!!! His methods all through his flabbergastingly interesting life story, is really heard to be believed!!!
Point C - Damage control cum trouble shoot and humanity - Which person amongst us listeners can honestly say that we would not give up hope, when we are caught in the act, and are facing die - hard secret service agents and local police, with an international twist to it?? Breakdown is a must - do, is it not?? Herein Frank shows his character's other side, when the chips are totally down, think!! It is also proven that he was not all - knowing, he should have known that a crime in Canada involving US of A would give Uncle Sam a resounding whack in his backside, when he is just relaxing with a midsummer nap in his family courtyard of Canada. USA will no doubt, leave no stone unturned to get the person who is actually swindling it off it's own money, he will get extradited. But even in such a calamitous situation, he held his nerve, thought hard, and finally got away with it!!! Humanity, well, he never tried to put his girlfriend or the farmer in trouble, he managed to keep them out of his own travails, they should be, as I am!!!
His life, and this incident, really deserves to be made into a movie!!! All in all, a not so evil person, but truely, a genius!!!
Small correction, Trois-Rivières is not a suburb of Montreal. It's almost 150 km away from Montreal.
Thank god I'm not the only one who caught that
And the US Mint does not print currency.akes you wonder the quality of research going on here.
So, like... 12 miles.
:-p
I’m amazed Simon was able to tell this story without cracking up. We need to blooper reel
NEW CHANNEL IDEA FOR SIMON!! (Tbh he probably DOES have a blooper channel. Watch it pop up in ur feed within the week lmao)
Brain Blaze is pretty much a blooper channel at times, or so it seemslol
I'm a middle-age woman who has never been in any trouble or caused any trouble. What do you suppose it says about the Powers That Be and how they interact with us "common-folk", that I spent the entire video rooting for Frank and hoping super hard that he didn't end up in trouble? Yay Frank! lol
Yes because the government does shady things it means people should get away with doing illegal crimes. Counterfeit money could help destroy small businesses and other that people work because that money is useless if it is found out that it is fake
Yes because counterfeit money totally doesn't screw over the common folk if it is found out to be fake money it is worthless to individuals, and small businesses.
It's also quite telling that the mere presence of a police car at a traffic stop causes one to feel more nervous than safe.
Agreed. Frank created instant wealth out of thin air, from nothing. Gee, I wonder who else does that 🤔 let's see....oh yeah the U.S. federal reserve. Seriously. As long as our currency system is run by greedy, corrupt psychopath elites and not backed by gold, I have a hard time seeing Mr. Frank as a criminal. His only real "crime" was moving in on the crimes of the ruling class, and their banksters.
Hahahaha, good on you, well said! 😂
I feel like this would have been way better as a Casual Criminalist episode. A more biographical dive into the story accompanied by Simon's various reactions and tangents sounds awesome
The fact they wanted 60 years is exactly why I am so happy he got 6 weeks with his smart thinking and lawyer's help.
I recall this channel once remarking that criminals "aren't exactly known for their intellect" - I feel as though Frank thoroughly debunks that.
To be fair, counterfeiting is more of a white collar crime, that phrase is more associated with the sort of street crime this guy specifically noted wasn't worth the effort compared to the money brought in.
I can’t believe that Swiss company counterfeited the three hardest parts for him - the paper, the watermark, and the security strip!
I’m guessing they no longer offer that service!
I also can't believe, or find it hard to believe, that they had no clue. Likely they could care less, asking no questions...
So they say ?
What an interesting story!
Bit of luck to catch him in the end too.
Thanks, Simon and the crew, another good story. 👍
You're welcome!
In a previous life I was a printer. I was asked numerous times by people visiting the firms if I would ever be tempted to print counterfeit money (Pound notes), naturally I always said no. Technically of course it wasn't impossible (The paper being a huge hurdle-they now use polymer) but was very very difficult to do it to any degree of accuracy. What isn't widely known is the ink used is different to conventional oil based printing ink and has a particular property unique to itself. About thirty or so years ago a man in the UK had a press (I think that was a multi unit Heidelberg Speedmaster-NOT CHEAP!) in his large shed (I think he lived on a farm) and printed some money. But he came unstuck when he thought he was being tailed (He was correct) and buried the printed money on his land as well as the blankets (A thin rubber sheet that wraps around a cylinder to transfer the image from the plates to the paper). The problem was the image had imprinted into the semi porous surface of the blankets, so the evidence was there.
Many years ago we printed a job that had a 20 dollar note on it, it had sample printed across the middle and large Xs where the number was.
Printed the vouchers on a single colour GTO52 on 80gsm bond, it was very close too the original in colour but the paper gave it away, now with polymer you have next to no chance.
@steveb6386 nice to see another person utilizing ( ) 🤘🏼✌🏼
@@ronfromoz1835 Worked on a few GTO's. Mainly single and two unit. Great press, built like a tank. Also used 4 and 5 unit Komori Lithrones. Miller, Roland.
You up for a job? I have a plan 😁🤑@@steveb6386
In the 1920's Artur Reis printed so many 500 Escudo notes that they matched the number of legitimate notes of that denomination in circulation. The catch was they were printed by the UK firm contracted by the Bank of Portugal, so no one could tell which was which. That ended up being a crisis for the Bank of Portugal.
Read Murray Teigh book the. Man Who Stole Portugal at least three ttimes along with a book covering the case in the UK.
I'm... I'm kind of impressed.
Just a little note on geography here: Trois-Rivières is not a suburb of Montreal. It's actually 140 km away from Montreal. It's almost half-way between Montreal and Québec city.
Sorry, I saw it described as a suburb of Montreal and hadn't checked how far they actually were since it wasn't terribly relevant to the story.
I can imagine Simon getting this script as a casual criminalist and going "hmmm, this guy's actually pretty smart about his crimes. he should go somewhere else. we only want dumb criminals on cas crim."
I literally laughed out loud at this one! Amazing. Had to believe he got off with it. Shows how broken the system is.
I feel.like this would have been a fun casual criminal to get Simon's reaction to how insane this is.
IKR! A shame to have it just be a straight script read.
Credit where credit is due: he was genuinely concerned over getting people who weren't involved by their own will mixed in with his criminal activities. He could've just took care of the number 1 and let others drown, but he didn't.
I feel like this should be a movie
This was a roller coaster of a video. Woahh
Darknet Diaries did a podcast on this guy. Interviewed him too. Wild story one of my favorites.
I swear I had heard that story before too
Why...Why is it always Switzerland when money is involved...Why always my country...😂
Secretive Banking laws
Switzerland's economy is based on money laundering (and arms trading). Think they got that rich selling cukoo clocks?
Because it's a den of vipers and thieves as Andrew Jackson once said
Great chocolate-dishonest money people have a sweet tooth.
Its a Gateway to crime
The level of details he put into the planning is definitely something worth learning
Great story and told it perfectly
Back when I was in college taking graphic arts, our first task was to attempt to replicate a canadian $5 bill. They weren't remotely fancy as they are now but it was still a whole lot of little tiny parts. basically, it was a Kobayashi Maru. But I always wondered if it was even legal to hold such a project, and if it didn't give some of the seedier students a gateway to study how to counterfeit properly. it's what got me to counterfeit some magic the gathering cards, though no real ones. my goal was simply to make customs cards indistinguishable from real ones in look and feel.
Please turn this into a CasCrim episode, a rare one with a happy ending. Poor Simon could really use such a script to read.
Wonderful piece.
Well done.
This dude has cash buried in ammo cans everywhere. Haha, that's awesome.
What a legend...and he is only did what Governments are doing every day with "quantitive easing"
Exactly!
th-cam.com/video/j2AvU2cfXRk/w-d-xo.html
Great video!!
Of all the videos on criminals that I have seen I believe he is the only one that got away. He was very smart about everything he did.
Compare what he did to what some politicians do with tax payer money.
In Canada there was an indigenous man who worked for the department of defense as well as had his own business. His business was given government contracts for indigenous projects. His company was paid over $200 MILLION since 2015. He was paid $4.9 MILLION for 100 hours of work in two years. This fact was only recently discovered. As well a company named GC Strategies DID NO WORK for the government but got paid $20 MILLION! I hope Frank Bourassa has a good life!
The government doesn't like competition
Exactly. As long as our monetary system is operated by greedy, corrupt psychopath elites, and not backed by gold, I have a difficult time labeling Mr. Frank as a criminal. The only "crime" he committed was encroaching on the monetary sham that is being orchestrated by the ruling class and their banksters.
Simon, I feel like this could’ve been a brain blaze video rather than an into the shadows one. Awesome vid either way. Keep up the good work
There must be something that connects Franks with counterfeiting. I seriously thought for a split second that this was going to be Frank Abagnale Jr's story.
Brilliantly brilliantly presented.
Well done.
The fact the he got away with this so long is amazing.
I can't believe this hasn't been made into a movie. Wow!
He farmed karma by looking out for everyone even remotely attached to his operation and cashed it in after being caught
I smiled so much at Frank's brilliance that my face hurts!
Simon has such awesome content. Love how the number of channels has exploded. Its educational and fun to watch. I just love how he goes off script all time, its part of the entertainment like on Business Blaze.
Well done Frank, this is proof that not all hero's wear capes.
Something about this story just had me thinking ‘go frank!’
This is the best story ever.
Clearly an extremely intelligent and extremely careful man
I'm surprised they haven't found a way to seize the ill-gotten gains. In the US they could use the rather sketchy rico laws to essentially arrest the money.
As someone who lives in Quebec. I actually agree with his belief. I'd rather make money by doing illegal (minus anything that has to do with children and sex trafficking) to make money. Making money legally SHOULDN'T be determental to your health
A masterclass in OpSec. Bravo Frank!
Citation Needed (Citation Pod) did an amazing episode on this absolute unite and referenced this episode as one of their sources. This king of crime, cardinal of counterfeiting is a legend! Oh, and he got the car back, too! Stars and Stones, the legend!
Also, no, I am not co-host Tom C. from Citation Needed, Cognitive Dissonance, Dear Old Dads... or am I, lol.
Yep. I listened to that episode and when Tom mentioned that he used the Into the Shadows channel as his source instead of Wikipedia, I was going "wait, isn't that part of the Simon Whistler empire? Two of my favorite info-casts have just collided?"
Great episode brother 🔥🔥
This would make a good movie!
Running a large scale quality grow operation can be a fairly stressful business endevor. That is what I heard.
5:05 The perfect definition of a business MONOPOLY.
Thats cornering a market by means of tradable assets.
We have a 3 episode show here in Quebec about him,I recommend it :)
really? send me the link?
I can’t wait for the Apple TV series, starring Pedro Pascal…
Have you uploaded this video before? I've watched it before quite awhile back or a similar one with the same story. Either way it's a great story and you keep the viewers interested.
To think if not for one person, he could've unloaded all the money. And if he did, that would've been that.
That was a really good episode 😮
Holy moly i just found another simon channel😂
Yes, do more canadian/Quebec content, there is a lot of cool stories here too, maybe look up the "french connection" for casual criminalist 👍
when is the movie coming out
I know right? " The definition of a professional criminal ".. rated R
Catch me if you can vibes, plenty of good moments of suspense and close calls.
Fascinating video. Thank y’all.
They told him to be careful because even these big time guys know when the tax man cometh hell hath no fury like the IRS
Dude was underestimating the Secret Service.
I like how the host states that the part Frank thought would be his “undoing” was asking the paper company, in Switzerland no less, to put a USA $20 security strip on the side. As if they weren’t aware from the jump what was going on. If someone is paying you really well to do a job, then that’s what you do and if you’re gonna do it, be exceptional at it.
Keep up the good work 😊😊😊
Thanks!
Sounds like a great movie.
What a story, what a legend!!!
What an amazing story, what a clever man.
I highly recommend the book The Art of Making Money: The Story of a Master Counterfeiter, by Jason Kersten. It's a biography about Art Williams, another huge counterfeiter.
Wow. What an honest, stand-up guy.
This is brilliant.
Okay just a couple things:
1. 75% cotton 25% linen is super easy to get. They sell reams of it at Walmart. Maybe at the time it was harder? But this exact blend is super easy to get now.
2. The printing press used doesnt matter much. You want a good quality one sure, but what matters are the plates for the press, not the press itself.
Great story 👍👍👍
Great story. Give your auther a few extra twents this week.
Fun fact. Trois-Rivières is not a suburb of Montreal but a town of it own in the Mauricie region while Montreal is in another region 2 hours of Trois-Rivières . The suburbs of Montreal is the North shore and the South shore.
The purchase of the gravure presses are reported to the Secret Service. The Swiss would also report the paper to the Secret Service. I'm not seeing this going too far. Frank will ALWAYS be under close scrutiny for the rest of his life.
The dude is a god. Amen to him. Wish him and his family well. Enough said.
This shouldn’t make me grin… but it does
This would make an excellent movie.
How did he figure out the ink, and the printing plates? None of his history provides experience in detailed jewelry metal work (the plates), or artistic understanding of painting/ printing (the ink). My brother was a printer for over 25 years mainly on German presses. You don’t just buy one and go to printing. Theirs settings you have to work out (plate pressure, ink application to fit the receiving surface, etc), that takes time and not to mention experience on that particular equipment. Not to mention they do breakdown and require a lot of maintenance. I’m going with the police on this one, he had accomplices from the printing press and jewelry business.
What a legend , ya gotta love a good hustle
You Frank you're a pretty smart cookie I'm impressed
Amazed this wasn't on Casual Criminalist instead!
Still more honest than a banker!
You nailed it. By printing up money, Frank created instant wealth out of thin air, from nothing. Gee, I wonder who else does that 🤔 let's see....oh yeah the U.S. federal reserve. Seriously. As long as our currency system is run by greedy, corrupt psychopath elites and not backed by gold, I have a hard time seeing Mr. Frank as a criminal. His only real "crime" was moving in on the crimes of the ruling class, and their banksters.
I can't believe I haven't heard this story. This is one of those "I am not even mad, that's amazing " stories. And I was surprised at how recent. But despite the complex steps he took for secrecy, did he not factor in American extradition or was that conducted more in a grey area?
16:42 Franks instinct and intuition are second to none 😮 and his intelligence
Trois-Rivières isn't a suburb of Montreal -where I live-, it's more than 1 hour and a half north but for the rest, as uge, great video! 👌🏻
Absolute legend!
Legend
Taking inspiration from my brother, I won't disappoint in the future 😅❤❤
Best channel
Great episode
Thanks. Good moral of the story. Crime pays 😅 something great to teach our kids 🤣
fair play simon you are smashing it a new one of your pages i havnt come across before with 800k subs i mean fair play
This guy is my new hero😊