US government warns of fake Federal notes in RP

The US government warned yesterday about fraudulent US securities made by Philippine forgers who pass them off as Treasury paper issued to help fund Filipino guerrillas in World War II.

The fake notes, which the forgers have named after 1930s US treasury secretary Robert Morgenthaus, do not even remotely resemble US Treasuries, a US Embassy statement said.

"They are, in fact, crude forgeries that appear to have originated in the Philippines," customs attaché David Meisner said in the statement, which was issued following numerous inquiries to the Treasury about the financial instruments.

He said the forgers were circulating a story that the US government shipped the "Morgenthaus notes" to Philippine freedom fighters battling Japanese occupation in World War II.

The bogus notes were apparently made by inserting images of $100, $1,000, and even $1 US bills into a computer program, then altering the amounts to read $100 million and $500 million and adding coupons in English and Chinese script.– AFP