Arthur J. Williams Jr.

Arthur J. "Art" Williams Jr. is an American-born artist and former counterfeiter,[1] who counterfeited the 1996 hundred dollar bill, and was subject of the book The Art of Making Money by Jason Kersten. His notoriety came as being the first to break all the security features within the 1996-issued $100 bill.[2] Williams would serve twelve years in various prisons throughout his life.[3]

Arthur J. Williams Jr.
Born1972 (age 50–51)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

Biography

Early life

Williams was born in 1972. His family was constantly moving around the country before his fraudster father abandoned them in Illinois when Williams was 11. The family then relocated to a housing project in Bridgeport, Chicago. Williams was taught how to counterfeit at the age of 15. As a teenager, he had a child, Art Williams III.

Counterfeiting

In 1996, the U.S. Treasury had made a focused effort to stop counterfeiting by releasing new bills. The first to be released was the $100 note, which Williams studied extensively in order to counterfeit.[4]

In February 2001, Williams was caught with $60,000 in fake currency at the House of Blues with his wife's sister. He was released due to an illegal search and seizure. He was later arrested again in 2002 for producing counterfeit money. This resulted in a three-year prison sentence.[5]

Williams was arrested in August 2006 after authorities searched his apartment and found counterfeit bills and tools to make counterfeit bills.[6]

References
  1. Stuart, Gwynedd (August 26, 2021). "The Outrageous Story of How Arthur J. Williams Jr. Went from Cash Counterfeiter to Gallery Owner". Los Angeles. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  2. "Counterfeiter: Arthur J. Williams Jr". The Florida Villager. December 3, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  3. "Infamous Convicted Counterfeiter Arthur J. Williams on Going from Inmate to Artist to the Stars". Artspace. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  4. James, Randy (June 15, 2009). "The Art of Counterfeiting Money". Time. Archived from the original on June 18, 2009. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  5. Coen, Jeff (October 12, 2007). "Vow to reform was as bogus as his money". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  6. Coen, Jeff (August 18, 2006). "Counterfeiter who told story arrested again". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
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