American Man Married To Granddaughter Of The Late Ugandan Dictator Idi Amin Charged With Producing $2 million In Counterfeit Notes...
BY LEAH MCDONALD
Ryan Gustafson, 28 pleaded guilty to conspiracy and counterfeiting charges
He is married to the granddaughter of the late Ugandan dictator Idi Amin
His parents are missionaries from Montana but he has lived in Africa for years
He was arrested in Uganda in 2014 when police found fake money and other evidence linking him to a counterfeiting ring at his residence
His operation was uncovered when an associate used a fake bill to buy a latte at Peet’s Coffee Shop in Oakland in 2013
A son of missionaries who later married into the family of an African dictator has admitted to his role in an international counterfeiting operation.
Ryan Gustafson, 28, an American married to the granddaughter of the late Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and counterfeiting counts on Thursday in Pittsburgh.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that prosecutors said Gustafson's operation was uncovered after one of his confederates bought coffee in Pittsburgh with a fake $100 bill.
The U.S. Secret Service said Gustafson had originally been arrested in Uganda in 2014 when police there raided his residence and found fake money and other evidence linking him to a counterfeiting ring.
Gustafson, who is the son of missionaries and is originally from Montana, was extradited from Africa to Pittsburgh in December 2015 to face trial here.
Asked by U.S. District Judge Mark Hornak how he pleaded, he answered 'guilty' to three counts and acknowledged responsibility for others which can be considered at sentencing.
He faces charges including conspiracy to manufacture and sell counterfeit currency, conspiracy to launder money and committing counterfeiting acts outside the U.S.
Gustafson is married to Sherry Amin Gustafson, granddaughter of former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin and his father-in-law is Taban Amin, is a high-ranking Ugandan official, according to TribLive.com.
Gustafson is accused of leading an international counterfeit U.S. currency operation headquartered in Uganda, which flooded the country and the U.S. with more than $2 million in counterfeit Federal Reserve Notes.
Although counterfeit notes were manufactured in Uganda, by December 2013, the bills were being passed in Pittsburgh-area retail stores and businesses.
His plea deal calls for a sentence of 74 months, which takes into account time he already served in a Ugandan prison for counterfeiting.
When he was arrested, police raided his residence and found fake money, computers, printers and life-like rubber gloves called 'Anon Hands' designed to conceal fingerprints.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Shardul Desai claimed that in 2013 he set up a site on the dark web called Community-X, which was dedicated to buying and selling counterfeit bills.
He used the pseudonym 'Willy Clock' or 'Jack Farrel' for his operation, the Department of Justice said in a statement.
He later split the site into two sites, using one to sell and ship counterfeit money to U.S. customers who would wire him real money as payment.
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, one customer was Joe Graziano, a former Bank of New York Mellon employee in Pittsburgh who used a fake bill to buy a latte at Peet’s Coffee Shop in Oakland in 2013.
That transaction launched the investigation that led to Gustafson.
Graziano was sentenced to to 7 and a half years in federal prison and ordered to pay more than $4 million in restitution to various corporate victims he defrauded through various financial scams.
Gustafson is due to be sentenced on July 23 although that date could change. If convicted of the charges, he faces for a prison sentence of 45 years, a fine of $1,000,000, or both.
Sherdal Desai said Gustafson is a flight risk as his wife and child are in Uganda and he has insisted that he wants to be with them there.
'He fought aggressively to prevent his deportation back to the United States, including refusing a medical examination,' Desai said in court papers.
He also claimed that Gustafson’s passport is missing and he can make a fake one with his computer skills.
His missionary parents are living in Rwanda, and he’s spent most of his life in Africa despite his ties to the U.S., Desai said.
Idi Amin ruled the East African country of Uganda from 1971 until he was deposed by a combined Ugandan rebel and Tanzanian force in 1979.
It is estimated that more than 200,000 Ugandans were tortured and murdered during Amin’s regime, while human rights groups put the figure closer to 500,000 people. He died from kidney failure in 2003 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
He is married to the granddaughter of the late Ugandan dictator Idi Amin
His parents are missionaries from Montana but he has lived in Africa for years
He was arrested in Uganda in 2014 when police found fake money and other evidence linking him to a counterfeiting ring at his residence
His operation was uncovered when an associate used a fake bill to buy a latte at Peet’s Coffee Shop in Oakland in 2013
A son of missionaries who later married into the family of an African dictator has admitted to his role in an international counterfeiting operation.
Ryan Gustafson, 28, an American married to the granddaughter of the late Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and counterfeiting counts on Thursday in Pittsburgh.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that prosecutors said Gustafson's operation was uncovered after one of his confederates bought coffee in Pittsburgh with a fake $100 bill.
The U.S. Secret Service said Gustafson had originally been arrested in Uganda in 2014 when police there raided his residence and found fake money and other evidence linking him to a counterfeiting ring.
Gustafson, who is the son of missionaries and is originally from Montana, was extradited from Africa to Pittsburgh in December 2015 to face trial here.
Asked by U.S. District Judge Mark Hornak how he pleaded, he answered 'guilty' to three counts and acknowledged responsibility for others which can be considered at sentencing.
He faces charges including conspiracy to manufacture and sell counterfeit currency, conspiracy to launder money and committing counterfeiting acts outside the U.S.
Gustafson is married to Sherry Amin Gustafson, granddaughter of former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin and his father-in-law is Taban Amin, is a high-ranking Ugandan official, according to TribLive.com.
Gustafson is accused of leading an international counterfeit U.S. currency operation headquartered in Uganda, which flooded the country and the U.S. with more than $2 million in counterfeit Federal Reserve Notes.
Although counterfeit notes were manufactured in Uganda, by December 2013, the bills were being passed in Pittsburgh-area retail stores and businesses.
His plea deal calls for a sentence of 74 months, which takes into account time he already served in a Ugandan prison for counterfeiting.
When he was arrested, police raided his residence and found fake money, computers, printers and life-like rubber gloves called 'Anon Hands' designed to conceal fingerprints.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Shardul Desai claimed that in 2013 he set up a site on the dark web called Community-X, which was dedicated to buying and selling counterfeit bills.
He used the pseudonym 'Willy Clock' or 'Jack Farrel' for his operation, the Department of Justice said in a statement.
He later split the site into two sites, using one to sell and ship counterfeit money to U.S. customers who would wire him real money as payment.
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, one customer was Joe Graziano, a former Bank of New York Mellon employee in Pittsburgh who used a fake bill to buy a latte at Peet’s Coffee Shop in Oakland in 2013.
That transaction launched the investigation that led to Gustafson.
Graziano was sentenced to to 7 and a half years in federal prison and ordered to pay more than $4 million in restitution to various corporate victims he defrauded through various financial scams.
Gustafson is due to be sentenced on July 23 although that date could change. If convicted of the charges, he faces for a prison sentence of 45 years, a fine of $1,000,000, or both.
Sherdal Desai said Gustafson is a flight risk as his wife and child are in Uganda and he has insisted that he wants to be with them there.
'He fought aggressively to prevent his deportation back to the United States, including refusing a medical examination,' Desai said in court papers.
He also claimed that Gustafson’s passport is missing and he can make a fake one with his computer skills.
His missionary parents are living in Rwanda, and he’s spent most of his life in Africa despite his ties to the U.S., Desai said.
Idi Amin ruled the East African country of Uganda from 1971 until he was deposed by a combined Ugandan rebel and Tanzanian force in 1979.
It is estimated that more than 200,000 Ugandans were tortured and murdered during Amin’s regime, while human rights groups put the figure closer to 500,000 people. He died from kidney failure in 2003 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
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