PITTSBURGH - A resident of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 18 months imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release, on his conviction of one count of conspiracy to make, deal, possess, pass, buy, sell, and transfer counterfeit currency both overseas and in the United States and one count of transferring counterfeit currency, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge Mark R. Hornak imposed the sentence yesterday on Michael Q. Lin, aka Mr. Casino, 22, of Bethlehem, PA.
Michael Q. Lin, using the online identity of mlin and Mr. Casino, joined a conspiracy to manufacture, deal, possess, pass, and transfer Ugandan-manufactured counterfeit Federal Reserve Notes. He bought counterfeit notes from Willy Clock, the self-proclaimed manufacturer of these counterfeit notes, and he was an active member and contributor to Community-X, a Dark Net website dedicated to the manufacturing, distribution, and passing of these Ugandan-manufactured counterfeit notes. In addition, after this conspiracy ended, Michael Q. Lin had another person ship to him $170 in counterfeit Federal Reserve Notes.
Assistant United States Attorney Shardul S. Desai prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the United States Secret Service for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Lin.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
