In a tale seemingly ripped from the pages of a crime thriller, a Dominican man has admitted to his key role in a high-stakes counterfeiting scheme that pushed nearly $150,000 in phony U.S. bills according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Maximo Morillo, 64, was charged with crafting fake currency and entering a conspiracy to bring the illicit goods to American soil.
With a guilty plea secured in federal court in Boston, Morillo awaits a sentencing slated for the winter chill of February 13, 2024. The plot, hatched in the warmth of the Dominican Republic, also entangled Ruben Diario Diaz Sanchez, Morillo's accused accomplice, who was indicted alongside Morillo by a federal grand jury back in October 2019. While Diaz Sanchez still maintains his innocence, the charged documents lay bare a scheme beginning in October 2014, with Morillo playing the role of a middleman between a nefarious printer in his homeland and eager buyers stateside.
Boston's legal stage was set by U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs, who will determine Morillo's fate, has potential penalties looming large—up to 20 years behind bars for each of the three counterfeiting offenses, not to mention supervised release and fines that could lighten his wallet by up to $250,000. The details of their endeavors, unfolding between May 2015 and January 2016, saw Morillo and, allegedly, Diaz Sanchez dealing in stacks of counterfeit $100 notes amounting to a near miss of $150,000.
