A former Treasury Department employee was sentenced to nine months in federal prison Monday for stealing more than $67,000 in uncut sheets of $100 bills that he tried to launder through casino slot machines.
David C. Faison, 56, was also ordered to pay back the government $37,200 — the amount he fed to slot machines in Atlantic City, West Virginia and Delaware between May and August last year.
The rest of the money — nine sheets of partially printed $100 bills — was recovered at Faison's house in Largo, Md., hidden inside a roll of Christmas wrapping paper.
Faison was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman less than a year after he admitted to the scheme and pleaded guilty on Sept. 6 to federal charges of material for counterfeiting purposes. Additionally, he will be put on supervised release for three years after serving his prison term.
Faison had worked as a stock control recorder, distributing currency paper within the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, when he stole 21 sheets of partially printed $100 bills. Each sheet contained 32 bills, which were missing serial numbers and Treasury Department seals.
Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington said Faison hand-cut at least 360 bills, then drove to the casinos. There, he laundered the bills through slot machines that issued tickets redeemable for cash. Surveillance video showed him feeding bills into slot machines, playing for a while, then cashing out for new bills.