Fake toonie investigation leads to $100K fine for Ontario man

About 10,000 fake toonies in circulation The RCMP have warned that about 10 thousand counterfeit toonies have been found circulating in Canada and there could be more.

An Ontario man has been fined $100,000 after pleading guilty to the possession and use of thousands of fake toonies circulated in the Canadian banking system.

Justice Amit Ghosh imposed the fine on Richmond Hill resident Daixiong He at the Newmarket Court of Justice after pleading guilty to a charge of uttering counterfeit money back in December 2022, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) confirmed to CTV News Toronto on Friday.

He, 68 at the time of his arrest, was charged in May 2022 as part of a federal counterfeit currency investigation launched after the Royal Canadian Mint discovered “an ongoing currency issue through their random sampling process." That investigation led officers to seize approximately 10,000 counterfeit toonies that had been placed into the Canadian banking system.

While the charge He faced came with the possibility of up to 14 years in prison, the accused was spared jail time by Ghosh, who instead opted to impose the monetary penalty.

CTV News Toronto was unable to reach He before publication. His lawyer, Thomas Richards, told CTV News that the fine imposed represented the total amount of the deposits, "so the fine was calculated to effectively cancel out any benefit gained by Mr He for having made deposits of the toonies in question."

At the time of He's arrest, police said they expected additional coins were still in circulation within Canada. The coins, which police say originated from China, could be distinguished by their primary characteristic flaw of having a "split-toe" on the right front paw of the Polar Bear.

"The unique features on Canada's circulation coins make them among the most secure in the world and allow these counterfeit pieces to be identified and removed from circulation quickly," James Malizia, Vice-President of Corporate Security at the Royal Canadian Mint, said in a statement in 2022.