The Last Counterfeiter: The Story of Fake Money, Real Art, and Forging the Impossible $100 Bill

The true story of the mastermind counterfeiter who forged millions, replicated the impossible 1996 note, dodged the Secret Service, and healed his broken family. When Art Williams Jr.’s father abandoned the family and his bipolar mother lost her mind, a life of crime in Chicago quickly claimed him. Parking meter theft led to robbing drug dealers before Art fatefully met a man nicknamed DaVinci who taught him the skill of counterfeiting money. After just a few years, Art would print millions of counterfeit bills, selling them to criminal organizations, all while trying to raise a family on the side. Art’s greatest challenge arose when the Treasury Department released the 1996 note, the most intricate and secure bill ever created. Between painstakingly perfecting a new hundred-dollar bill to bypass the naked eye and security measures alike, Art was slipping by the Secret Service hunting him, and searching for his long-lost father, a path that ultimately led to his undoing. Prison may have been the end, especially as Art Jr. found himself behind bars sharing a cell with his own son, but with the same creativity and ambition that locked him up, Art reinvented himself as a professional artist. Art’s unbelievable journey extends beyond a life of crime to one of second chances, healing family wounds, and ultimately, triumph. Fans of "Catch Me If You Can" and "The Art Thief" won't want to miss this unforgettable caper story. The true story of the mastermind counterfeiter who forged millions, replicated the impossible 1996 note, dodged the Secret Service, but couldn't escape the pain of his broken family. When Art Williams Jr.s father abandoned the family and his bipolar mother lost her mind, a life of crime in 1970s Chicago quickly claimed him. Parking meter theft led to robbing drug dealers before Art fatefully met a man nicknamed DaVinci who taught him the skill of counterfeiting money. In the following years, Art printed millions in counterfeit bills, selling them to criminal organizations, meanwhile trying to raise a family on the side. His greatest challenge arose with the Treasury Departments new and most secure hundred-dollar bill ever, the 1996 note. After months spent painstakingly perfecting the new counterfeit bill, he created an indistinguishable copy to bypass the naked eye and security measures alike. While Art slipped by the Secret Service hunting him, he searched for his long-lost father, a path that ultimately led to his undoing and another prison sentence. In this new edition, thirteen years later, journalist Jason Kersten details how Arts criminal knowledge caught up with him again as he found himself behind bars sharing a cell with his own son. Yet Arts third prison sentence finally had the desired effect to convince him to start a new life. Upon finishing his sentence, he has reinvented himself, owning art galleries, and using the same techniques that locked him up for six and a half years, now as a successful artist. The true story of the mastermind counterfeiter who forged millions, replicated the impossible 1996 note, dodged the Secret Service, but couldn't escape the pain of his broken family. When Art Williams Jr.'s father abandoned the family and his bipolar mother lost her mind, a life of crime in Chicago quickly claimed him. Parking meter theft led to robbing drug dealers before Art fatefully met a man nicknamed DaVinci who taught him the skill of counterfeiting money. After just a few years, Art would print millions of counterfeit bills, selling them to criminal organizations, all while trying to raise a family on the side. Art's greatest challenge arose when the Treasury Department released the 1996 note, the most intricate and secure bill ever created. Between painstakingly perfecting a new hundred-dollar bill to bypass the naked eye and security measures alike, Art was slipping by the Secret Service hunting him, and searching for his long-lost father, a path that ultimately led to his undoing. Prison may have been the end, especially as Art Jr. found himself behind bars sharing a cell with his own son, but with the same creativity and ambition that locked him up, Art reinvented himself as a professional artist. Art's unbelievable journey extends beyond a life of crime to one of second chances, healing family wounds, and ultimately, triumph. Fans of Catch Me If You Can and The Art Thief won't want to miss this unforgettable caper story.