Quebec man who imported 26,630 fake $2 coins made in China gets jail time

A Quebec man has been jailed after he admitted masterminding one of the largest ever series of shipments of Chinese-made counterfeit toonies in Canadian history, Global News has learned.

Jean-Francois Généreux from Sorel, Que., about 70 kilometres from Montreal, was sentenced to nine months in jail before the Labour Day weekend after he pleaded guilty to two criminal charges, including importing and introducing counterfeit money into Canada.

Quebec Court Judge Marc-Nicolas Foucault sent the unemployed Généreux to jail after a brief court appearance but did not give the man additional Quebec Court surcharges typically seen in such cases.

Judge Foucault also ordered the confiscation of 26,630 dodgy toonies that Généreux imported from a Chinese manufacturer in Quanzhou, China, so federal authorities can oversee their destruction.

The sentence was a joint submission by a Quebec Crown prosecutor and Généreux’s lawyer, and was accepted by Judge Foucault.

Généreux also received a concurrent 30-day sentence for possessing illegal cannabis.

Global News told the tale of Généreux’s arrest for importing Dodgy Toonies from Quanzhou last fall.

It revealed how some quick and critical thinking by a Canada Border Services Agency officer helped the federal agency nab Généreux and his 26,630 fake $2 coins from China. Some of the coins were intercepted at Mirabel International Airport and others were stashed all over his property.

Généreux has prior counterfeiting and fake documents convictions in Quebec courts.

Evidence gathered by the CBSA in his latest troubles with the law showed Généreux disguised the imported fake coin shipments, delivered by FedEX, as “metal badges” on shipping manifests and said they were destined for his company, Quebec