Sask. man finds US$4,200 in counterfeit bills in his mailbox
Checking your mail is usually a pretty mundane activity. However, one Regina man got quite the surprise when an envelope full of thousands of dollars of counterfeit U.S. currency appeared in his mailbox.
In early April, Jesse Wiebe discovered a brown envelope marked “return to sender” in his mailbox.
Opening the mystery package revealed 14 sheets of uncut American $50 bills. In total, the package contained $4,200.
“Because it was so close to April Fools, I was wondering if someone was like trying to play a prank on me but that would be a pretty edgy and risky prank,” Wiebe told CTV News.
Following the discovery, Wiebe bought a counterfeit detecting pen and picked up a genuine U.S bill to compare the mystery notes to.
“[They] ended up being counterfeit. I dropped it off with the police yesterday and even then they said they'd seen nothing like this,” he said.
“It was really interesting.”
Wiebe said he has no idea why the address of his business, Wiebe’s Roofing Ltd., was used as the mailing address for the package and hopes the authorities will be able to figure why he was chosen.
However, he was sure to make one thing clear to officers when he handed the counterfeit cash over.
“When I dropped it off with them, I said, ‘Don't you guys dare check my browser history because now it looks like I've been I've been figuring out how to print counterfeit money because I've been looking into it so much,’” he chuckled.
According to Wiebe, the intended recipient of the package was located in New York’s Chinatown.
“I'm not sure what the business is. I looked it up on Google Maps, but it was it was all written in Chinese,” he explained.
Regina police told Wiebe that counterfeit bills would be sent to Canada’s Anti-Counterfeiting Bureau for investigation.
Wiebe reiterated that the quality of the forgery was alarmingly good. However, he was sure to highlight a fatal flaw in whatever plan ultimately led the cash to end up in his mailbox.
“It seems like a pretty intelligent thing, the way that they printed the money but not very intelligent in the way that they didn't have enough postage to get it to its destination,” he laughed.
Wiebe had a simple piece of advice to share for anyone else who may encounter this sort of bizarre experience.
“Don't try to spend it.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
Concerns about Plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglass barriers.
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Poilievre unrepentant over calling Trudeau 'wacko' as his MPs say Speaker should resign
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
The remains belonged to three adults, a teenager and a newborn baby, according to a statement from the Latebra Foundation, a historical organization based in the Polish city of Gdansk, published Thursday.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh confirms his party will support the Liberals' federal budget
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says his party will support the federal budget, ending any speculation that the party could pull out of its deal with the minority Liberal government.
Dental care program accepting claims for 1 million seniors
Citizens' Services Minister Terry Beech says 1,200 seniors have already visited a dentist and had their claims processed by the federal government's new dental care plan.