Quebec Man Sentenced to Prison for Importing Over 26,000 Fake $2 Coins From China

A Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) patch is seen on a CBSA officer’s uniform in Tsawwassen, B.C., on Dec. 16, 2022. The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck

A Quebec man has been sentenced to nine months in jail for importing counterfeit toonies from China.

Jean-François Généreux faced multiple charges, including giving false information in a customs declaration and buying, possessing, and bringing into Canada over 26,000 counterfeit $2 coins made in China, says a Nov. 6, 2023, news release from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

Généreux was sentenced just before the Labour Day weekend based on a joint submission by his defence lawyer and the federal Crown on the recommended punishment, federal prosecutor Frédéric Hivon confirmed in a statement emailed to The Epoch Times on Sept. 6. He was also given a 30-day sentence for his case with the province of Quebec for possessing illegal cannabis.

The Epoch Times contacted Généreux’s lawyer, Laurence Legault-Denis, but did not receive a response by publication time.

The investigation began in January 2023 when the CBSA intercepted 12,049 counterfeit $2 coins at Montreal-Mirabel International Airport. A search of Généreux’s residence in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, in February 2023 led to the seizure of an additional 14,581 fake $2 coins and 91 fake US$50 bills, the agency said.

An invoice provided by Généreux showed that the coins were imported from a manufacturer in Quanzhou, China, as first reported by Global News.

Généreux is the second Canadian to be convicted of importing thousands of counterfeit $2 coins from China in recent years.

In May 2022, the Ontario RCMP announced charges against Daixiong He, a 68-year-old resident of Richmond Hill, Ontario. He imported approximately 10,000 counterfeit toonies, which were identifiable by their main flaw of having a “split-toe” on the right front paw of the Polar Bear design, the RCMP said in its news release at the time.

The CBSA declined to comment when asked whether these cases indicate a trend in counterfeit coin imports from China.

“Several elements can have an impact on the number of seizures from year to year, such as traveller volumes and/or size/volume of a seizure, as well as ongoing investigations. As such, the CBSA does not speculate on possible trends,” CBSA spokesperson Maria Ladouceur told The Epoch Times in an email on Sept. 6.

“We stay current on global trends and patterns to ensure that its frontline border services officers are well equipped to identify and prevent illegal goods from entering Canada,” she said.

Ladouceur also confirmed that the CBSA “has had 3 counterfeit coin seizures in the last 5 years; one for CAD toonies in 2019, one for USD silver dollars in 2022, and another CAD toonie seizure in 2023.”

She added that smugglers are increasingly using sophisticated concealment methods, and CBSA officers combat this with contraband detection tools such as handheld devices, X-ray machines, and detector dogs. They are always “on the lookout for to prohibited, restricted or regulated goods,” she said.

The CBSA seized approximately $26.2 million in currency during the 2023-24 fiscal year and about $7.7 million in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, according to the agency’s latest available data.