Article Courtesy of NBCNewYork.com
Gene Carlo Pena, 26, was taken into custody at Kennedy Airport around 4 p.m. after voluntarily returning to New York from the Dominican Republic, the FBI said. He worked for a company that serviced the ATMs.
He faces several charges, including embezzlement and other charges related to counterfeit currency. It’s not clear if he has an attorney.
The amateurish fake bills were put in ATMs at two Chase bank branches to replace cash that had been stolen. The bank was short a total of $11,000.
The counterfeit bills were blank on one side and authorities believe they were meant to trick the ATM into believing it was carrying a full complement of cash.
However, the machines were able to distinguish most of the fake bills from real ones, a bank official said. The NYPD and Secret Service assisted in the investigation.
