U.S. Mint Worker Stole $2.4M in "Error" Coins

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/US-Mint-Worker-Stole--129518468.html

The article is a little thin on the details. I don't know what "value" they are assigning the
coins, but using a rough assumption of $500 per coin, that translates to 4,800
dollar coins with missing edge inscription flooding the market.

The article also doesn't mention who the dealer is and whether the dealer actually sold
any.

 

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Also, does anybody have any links to more informative articles?

 

http://www.nj.com/gloucester-county/index.ssf/2011/09/north_wildwood_man_pleads_guil.html

 

That's much better than the article I found.

While it still doesn't indicate how many coins actually entered the market this way or which dealer he was working with, it does clarify just how careless that employee was.

 

It's just amazing he was able to steal coins from inside the mint.

 

He made the mistake that many amateurs make - get away with it once and think that you can continue getting away with it. I have no idea how he did it but I can't imagine that the Mint's security is less than that of the average casino.

When you walk into a casino you are on camera from the time you enter their property until the time you leave. There is not one square inch of floor space that isn't being viewed and recorded. Every handling of cash by employees has at least two pairs of eyes watching in person, in addition to the cameras.

I would have thought that the Mint did the same, but apparently not.

 

Don't forget, the possible quarter-million dollar fine for the tax evasion conviction is in addition to the taxes, interest and penalties he evaded!

 

So he gets a slap on the hands and makes off with a cool two million after fines.

 

10-20 years in prison is hardly a "slap on the hands". plus, this type of thing typically involves restitution in addition to fines.

 

I could only hope that the judge would agree with your penalty. But I doubt he will get jail time. The law and Government work in mysterious ways.

 

Being a police officer probably helped him sneak past himself.

 

The guy was a cop and supposedly above reproach.

Greed. The ultimate bring down for types such as this. The old boy couldn't be satisfied with a little. Had to go for "a lot". The Feds are gonna hand him his head and make an example out of him. And just before Christmas too. Adding insult to injury, but the crook deserves it. Nothing worse than a dirty cop.......

 

I doubt the dealer paid anywhere near $500/coin, probably more like $5/coin considering the quantity, which means a whole bunch of them out there. Sounds like the guy grabbed the coins before they were sent to the edge lettering department. So, are they still errors?

And, tell me the dealer didn't know he was trafficking in stolen property. The Feds are probably all over his butt.

 

I can practically guarantee he sees a lot of Leavenworth before he dies. Government employees, like Military personnel do NOT want to get caught stealing from the "Boss". Each and every single one is made an example of to discourage others from doing it. That's why it doesn't happen very often, IMHO Being a cop, he'll likely get his time in solitary.

 

A carload of them.

 

Posted some info on this at thread http://www.cointalk.com/t191828/

 

Not according to the complaint filed in US District Court.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/nj/Press/files/pdffiles/2011/Gray, William Information.pdf

See page 11 where the government wants $2.3 million dollars along with everything he might have purchased with the money.

Then, and only then, add in the fines, penalties, back taxes and jail time.

 

Kasia, thanks for the post. In the filing, they do state that he received $2.4 Million and sold the coins for between $20 and $75. So let's assume $75 per coin, that is a minimum of 32,000 coins that this guy single handedly introduced into the market. That is definitely a market driver.

While I assume the dealer returned to the US mint all coins that he was in possession when requested, but this took place over 4 years. Many of them had to have been sold before the Mint contacted the dealer.

That said, I wonder if now might be a good speculative opportunity on future missing edge inscription errors as the past population numbers probably understated that actual rarity of this error.

 

I suppose that "could" be possible but certainly not in today's market.

The MEL Adams dollars are going VERY cheaply and have a nice low population.
The MEL Jefferson dollars took a nose dive a couple of years back.

IMO, most folks have lost the allure of the Missing Edge Letter Presidential Dollars and curren prices reflect that point.
Once folks lose interest, the market simply disappears.

Speculative buying at this point in time should be done with caution since it could be a very long time before any price escalation will or would occur as folks have simply lost interest. This breaking story certainly doesn't help.

HOWEVER, if some type of confiscation were to occur, prices for non-stolen coins would certainly escalate. Thats not really a gamble I'm in the mood to take though.

 

Well, I would like to speculate here, and it is all pure speculation on my part, but it would be interesting to see what if any of it becomes a fact down the line.

First, according to one of the about.com articles by Susan Headley, it states (approx. Feb 2007 I believe) that over 10,000 non-edge-inscription George Washington Dollars from the Philadelphia Mint were distributed through the Fed in Florida. Meaning they were errors that the mint did not detect and came into circulation through normal means. That could be true, but it also, in my mind could be true that either this William Gray deliberately allowed a number of missing edge coins to go into circulation without him profiting from it as a test to see what would be done, or conversely, there could be some collusion between Gray and the California dealer whereby the dealer paid him 20 per coin (200,000.00 in this instance) and only put out the claim that they came from the Fed. The reason I say this is because it seems that maybe the George Washington dollars may have had the largest numbers of coins that were edgeless ( I don't know, I haven't done the research, please someone prove me wrong and give me numbers of edgeless dollars, presidential or otherwise from 2007 to 2010).

I think the latter is possible, because if Gray received about 50 checks totaling 2.4 mil, and there were about 16 or so individual coin issues that could have been impacted by him, an initial 200,000.000 would have left 2.2 mil to be divided 50 ways, which leaves additional payments averaging 45,000.00 per check (some more, some less) which at say 70.00 per coin, would leave Gray taking out a total of 31,428 other issue dollars and selling them. (Quick math, could be wrong).

So, if Gray took out about 41,000+ coins (which is feasable for a person to do physically over nearly 4 years, that's only 41 bags of coins) then that would account for that.

Now, on to the dealer (and of course the people that purchased these coins)....

I think that the government will be able to prove that the dealer was, if not "in" on this (collusion), had to reasonably know that his source could not have possibly obtained these coins legally, and as such, then knew they were illegal. So I am speculating that the government may be going after the coin dealer (and not yet showing it's hand) for collusion and trafficking in stolen goods. That being said, the government will want to have it's coins back. Because the government is not one that lets bygones be bygones in this manner. A stolen coin that was never intended for circulation, yet made it's way out of the mint illegally rarely gets to stay that way. I am speculating that the government is putting together a huge case against this dealer and paving the way to get it's coins back.

Now I could be wrong, and maybe am. It is pure speculation on my part. But it will be interesting to see how many coins are recovered, and how many error coins like this get out in the future. I think that the future ones are the ones to purchase if you can, seeing how this guy (Gray) is off the market.