RCMP Reveal New Details on Fake Toonie Distribution Network With China Connection

An RCMP patch is seen on a uniform in a file photo. The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck

New details in a 2022 counterfeit $2 coin case suggest that a Chinese Canadian business in Toronto, charged with distributing the coins, did not act alone. The RCMP believe a distribution network exists, with another suspect possibly still at large.

Daixiong He, who owned a Chinese supermarket in the Toronto area, allegedly deposited 90 boxes of 500 counterfeit coins at branches of three major banks throughout 2021 until his May 2022 arrest, according to a 43-page RCMP report obtained by Global News via an access to information request.

In a May 2022 press release, the RCMP announced the seizure of around 10,000 of those counterfeit coins, distinguishable by a “split-toe” on the right front paw of the polar bear. He, then 68, was charged with uttering and possessing counterfeit money.

While no accomplice was identified at the time, the RCMP report said investigators have alleged that He did not act alone and that a “distribution network” is likely involved in circulating the fake coins. It also suggests a second individual was arrested, but the heavily redacted report did not disclose the person’s identity.

“The RCMP investigation determined that the circulation of the counterfeit coins was not limited to the bank deposits of counterfeit two-dollar coins (toonies) completed by Daixiong He,” the report said, as cited by Global News.

Fake Coins From China

He’s case was followed by a more recent one in Quebec, where Jean-François Généreux was sentenced in September to nine months in jail for purchasing and circulating 26,000 counterfeit $2 coins made in China. However, there is no evidence suggesting the two cases are connected.

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) declined to comment on whether there is a growing trend of individuals circulating fake toonies from China.

“What we can tell is that 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,” CBSA spokesperson Maria Ladouceur said in a previous email to The Epoch Time

The Royal Canadian Mint, which manages Canada’s coin distribution system and regularly monitors this national network, said it  has “an established process for investigating suspected coin counterfeiting.”

“We work closely with law enforcement agencies, in Canada and abroad, on these issues,” Deneen Perrin, the Mint’s director of public affairs, said in a statement to The Epoch Times on Nov. 11. “Coin counterfeiting is not commonplace in Canada. To help provide context, the Mint has produced over one billion $2 circulation coins since 1996.”

Investigation

The RCMP report, prepared by its GTA Serious and Transnational Organized Crime Unit, details how He allegedly deposited boxes of 500 counterfeit $2 coins into personal and business accounts at branches of three Toronto-area banks: HSBC, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), and Bank of Montreal (BMO).

The RCMP investigation, which began on July 12, 2021, was prompted by a request from the Royal Canadian Mint a month prior. By that time, the RCMP’s National Anti-Counterfeiting Bureau was already aware of counterfeit coins circulating in the GTA for over a year, the report said.

The Mint’s coin sampling and inspection program helped investigators quickly link He to the counterfeit coins, as alleged by the report. The program involved examining boxes of $2 coins for counterfeits, with each box traceable to specific bank branches where it had been deposited.

The first alleged large deposits of fake $2 coins occurred at three Royal Bank branches in June, August, and November 2021, according to the report. Meanwhile, the Mint’s sampling detected alleged fake toonies deposited at an RBC branch on July 26, 2021.

A Royal Bank regional investigator worked with the RCMP to track the alleged depositor through branch security footage. By Oct. 4, 2021, the RCMP had obtained a court order for RBC to disclose the alleged depositor’s identity, allegedly confirming that He made the July deposit, said the report.

Additionally, Canada’s financial intelligence agency, FINTRAC, was involved in the investigation, the report said. It found that He allegedly had been depositing counterfeit $2 coins into various personal and business accounts at banks across the GTA between Jan. 4 and Nov. 12, 2021.

A BMO branch teller in Richmond Hill also identified a full box of counterfeit toonies allegedly deposited by He, according to the report. The teller confronted He, asking about the source of the coins, but his response was redacted, Global News reported.

The unidentified BMO teller alerted a branch manager, who filed a suspicious transaction report with FINTRAC allegedly “relating to Daixiong He’s financial activities at Bank of Montreal,” the RCMP report said. On Feb. 28, 2022, nearly three months later, FINTRAC provided the RCMP with a broader report on He’s alleged “suspicious financial activities at Bank of Montreal.”

He pleaded guilty to uttering and possessing counterfeit money in May 2022 and paid a $100,000 fine in a Newmarket court. He did not serve jail time, and his possession charge was stayed after the fine was paid, Global News reported.