#681 - Ex-Counterfeiter Arthur Williams Jr.

Episode of This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von · September 8, 2026 · 2 h 21 min

Former counterfeiter Arthur Williams Jr. tells Theo Von how he beat the 1996 $100 bill, went to prison twice, and became an artist.

Summary

Arthur Williams Jr., a former counterfeiter from Chicago's South Side, recounted to Theo Von how a childhood of poverty, foster care and gang life led him into crime. He described breaking open parking meters at age 12 to buy groceries, running with the Gangster Disciples, being shot by a rival gang member, and being taken under the wing of an older printer he called "Pete DaVinci," who taught him offset printing and the discipline of working quietly.

Williams explained in technical detail how he defeated the 1996 $100 note, which the government had promoted as impossible to replicate. He said his partner Natalie discovered that Yellow Pages phone-book paper passed the counterfeit-detection pen, and that he combined old offset-press techniques with new desktop publishing to print each security element separately, sourcing color-shifting ink from the same patent-holding supplier the Treasury used and researching bank counting machines through the U.S. patent office. He described spending the money at malls across the country, giving to Salvation Army drop boxes and churches, and burying cash in PVC pipes.

He recounted being arrested at a Chicago hotel after a bartender tipped off police, beating that case on a probable-cause technicality, reconnecting with his estranged father in Alaska, and being turned in by his father's wife, who was a confidential informant. He later returned to printing to fund his son's music career, was caught again and sentenced to 105 months, and ended up incarcerated in the same prison dorm as his son, who had continued counterfeiting. Williams said his father died the day he was released from his first sentence.

In the final segment Williams argued that Americans are over-taxed, that the U.S. financial system is unsustainable and heading toward a reset, and that a programmable central bank digital currency would end financial privacy. Von and Williams discussed the anti-CBDC legislation, Executive Order 6102, and Williams described his current life as a gallery artist in Chicago who prints sheets of money on canvas and paints over them.

Chapters

0:00
Meeting the counterfeiter
Theo Von introduces Arthur Williams Jr. and they open with small talk about the moon before turning to his counterfeiting past.
2:10
Growing up on Chicago's South Side
Williams describes his father leaving, his mother's bipolar illness, breaking into parking meters at 12 to buy groceries, and drifting into gang life.
9:13
Pete DaVinci and the printing trade
An older neighborhood printer takes Williams in and teaches him offset presses, ink mixing and how to operate quietly before vanishing.
26:35
Street crime, robbery crews and getting shot
After Pete disappears Williams returns to robbing drug dealers while dressed as police, is shot by a Latin King, and flees to Texas.
33:07
Cracking the 1996 hundred
Out of a Texas prison, Williams sets out to beat the counterfeit pen and, with his partner Natalie, discovers Yellow Pages paper and builds a hybrid offset-digital process.
52:07
Spending, giving and burying the money
Williams describes hitting malls across the country, donating to Salvation Army boxes and churches, and stashing cash in PVC pipes in forest preserves.
1:12:02
The House of Blues bust
A bartender's tip leads police to Williams's hotel room with $100,000, but a false probable-cause claim in the police report gets the case dismissed.
1:24:16
Alaska and his father
Williams tracks down his estranged father in Alaska, shows him the money, and is later arrested after his father's wife informs on him to the Secret Service.
Linked moment · 1:38:18Skip to 1:38:18 using a listen link in the info box.
1:38:18
Prison with his son
Williams returns to printing to fund his son's rap career, is caught and sentenced, then ends up in the same prison as his son, where both turn to art and music.
1:42:28
Homeland Security conference
Williams recounts speaking at a fraud conference full of federal agents while still actively counterfeiting.
1:57:11
Crime as addiction and making amends
Williams reflects on counterfeiting as a compulsion, the family cost of his crimes, and mentoring people leaving prison.
2:02:12
Digital dollars, gold confiscation and art
Williams argues a programmable CBDC would end financial privacy, they discuss Executive Order 6102 and the historical design of currency, and he describes his gallery work.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

Arthur Williams Jr.
Williams says he set out to replicate the 1996 $100 bill precisely because authorities declared it impossible to duplicate.
“When the $1,996 bill came out, they said that it was impossible to replicate. And I was about, I don't know, I was probably like 24, 25. And so I said, man, I'm gonna replicate it”
Listen from 2:12 · 1996 series $100 Federal Reserve Note
Arthur Williams Jr.
Williams recounts breaking into parking meters at about age 12 to buy groceries after finding his mother crying over an empty refrigerator.
“So I opened up the fridge and it was empty. I was about 12 at that time”
Listen from 3:48 · Chicago South Side
Arthur Williams Jr.
Williams says large amounts of cash make a counterfeiter a target, and that he has seen people killed over sums as small as $5,000.
“You get over $50,000, you get over $100,000, your life's in danger. It don't need to be $500,000. It don't need to be a million. I've seen people get killed for $5,000”
Listen from 21:36 · Counterfeiting of United States currency
Arthur Williams Jr.
Williams says watching a cashier verify a bill with only a detection pen convinced him the whole system could be beaten by defeating the pen.
“I just got to beat the marker. Just got to beat the marker, right? That's the only thing on my mind. I just got to beat that because nobody's looking at it”
Listen from 33:07 · 1996 series $100 Federal Reserve Note
Arthur Williams Jr.
Williams says the breakthrough came when Natalie realized that Yellow Pages phone-book paper passed the counterfeit detection pen.
“this whole time we've been looking for the paper and this is it, Art”
Listen from 40:14 · Counterfeiting of United States currency
Arthur Williams Jr.
Williams says every one of his bills was assembled by hand, including inserting the watermark and security strip individually.
“every single piece was hand done. Wow. Every piece, every one I put that watermark in, every one I laid that strip, every one of them”
Listen from 40:24 · Counterfeiting of United States currency
Arthur Williams Jr.
Williams argues that printing each security element separately, as the Treasury does, is what made his notes superior to other counterfeiters' work.
“the first thing I learned was they did every single image by itself. That's what made my money so good. That's what separated me from all the other counterfeiters before me”
Listen from 44:22 · Offset printing
Arthur Williams Jr.
Williams says he used the U.S. patent office to obtain schematics for bank counting machines and to identify the supplier of the government's color-shifting ink.
“I literally defeated the bill by using their own knowledge”
Listen from 50:47 · Counterfeiting of United States currency
Arthur Williams Jr.
Williams says his first successful bill frightened him because he felt he had replicated the government's source of power.
“I'm like, man, they'll kill us. They'll kill us. I actually told them, they'll kill us for this, man. Like, this is their power”
Listen from 51:49 · Counterfeiting of United States currency
Arthur Williams Jr.
Williams says he donated counterfeit cash and goods to Salvation Army drop boxes and struggling families, and describes that as among the best periods of his life.
“I would just tell Natalie, listen, just get diapers, baby clothes, baby shoes, baby toys. Let's go drop them off”
Listen from 54:46 · Counterfeiting of United States currency
Arthur Williams Jr.
Williams says he deliberately spent counterfeit notes at large chains rather than small businesses so losses would fall on corporations.
“I don't want to go hit a mama pop with a bogus hunter, you know, because I don't want it to pop up on them in their bank and then they get it”
Listen from 58:50 · Counterfeiting of United States currency
Arthur Williams Jr.
Williams says his first Chicago case was dismissed after his attorney proved the officers could not have seen the marijuana they cited as probable cause.
“Fucking judge dismissed it, and I walked right out”
Listen from 1:22:27 · United States Secret Service
Arthur Williams Jr.
Williams says his father's wife acted as the confidential informant who led the Secret Service to him, and that she received a longer sentence than he did after pleading insanity.
“And then she was the confidential informant. But when she went to court, she pleaded insanity”
Listen from 1:34:58 · Federal prison incarceration
Arthur Williams Jr.
Williams says his father died of a heart attack on the morning of the day he was released from his first federal sentence.
“the day I got out of prison, he died. No. Yeah, had a heart attack”
Listen from 1:35:34 · Federal prison incarceration
Arthur Williams Jr.
Williams characterizes counterfeiting as an addiction, saying he continued printing even while being paid to speak about his past crimes.
“Counterfeiter, as I'm counterfeiting. This is what was so bizarre about it. It's addiction, really”
Listen from 1:42:38 · Addiction and recovery
Arthur Williams Jr.
Williams says he and his son were housed in the same prison dorm and that the two and a half years there taught him to be a father.
“And that's where I learned to become a dad, man. The next two and a half years, man”
Listen from 1:54:56 · Federal prison incarceration
Arthur Williams Jr.
Williams says roughly 78 percent of people released from prison return, and that his own trajectory is unusual.
“sadly, almost 78% of people go back. Small percentage of us that make it out”
Listen from 1:58:07 · Federal prison incarceration
Arthur Williams Jr.
Williams says his regrets concern his family rather than the businesses he passed fake money to, since he felt no guilt about the money itself.
“the things that I regret are more family. I didn't sell drugs and I wasn't into all that other stuff”
Listen from 2:00:24 · Counterfeiting of United States currency
Arthur Williams Jr.
Williams predicts the U.S. financial system cannot be repaired and that a reset in the form of a digital dollar is coming.
“There's going to have to be a reset. There's going to have to be some sort of, and that's what the digital dollar is going to be, right? It's going to be a reset”
Listen from 2:03:20 · Central bank digital currency
Arthur Williams Jr.
Williams argues a programmable digital dollar would let authorities restrict what and when people can buy, citing the frozen accounts of Canadian trucker protesters.
“It's all programmable, which means they can say, hey, you can't buy gas on Tuesdays. And guess what? Your card will not work on Tuesdays”
Listen from 2:03:35 · Central bank digital currency
Arthur Williams Jr.
Williams argues that ornate 19th-century banknote designs were intended to persuade holders of gold to accept paper currency.
“them old timers didn't want to give up their gold. Right. So they had to make the paper look valuable”
Listen from 2:11:02 · Executive Order 6102
Arthur Williams Jr.
Williams says he now views his money-based artwork as historical preservation because paper currency will soon disappear.
“soon there won't be currency. Soon there won't be paper currency, you know? Right. And so for me, it's almost like I'm preserving history through my pieces”
Listen from 2:14:07 · Counterfeiting of United States currency
Arthur Williams Jr.
Williams says he finds the shift to digital currency more alarming than artificial intelligence, which he thinks is overhyped.
“I get more nervous about that than AI. I think AI is kind of a little bit of hoaxy because the shit don't really work well”
Listen from 2:15:00 · Artificial intelligence surveillance

People

In the conversation

Theo VonAmerican stand-up comedian and host of the podcast This Past Weekend
Arthur Williams Jr.Former American counterfeiter known for replicating the 1996 $100 bill, now a visual artist

Discussed

NatalieArthur Williams Jr.'s partner and later wife, a computer technician who helped him source paper and produce counterfeit notes
Pete DaVinciNickname Williams gave the older Chicago printer who first taught him counterfeiting before disappearing
Frank AbagnaleFormer check forger and security consultant whose speaking role Williams was asked to fill
Arnold SchwarzeneggerAustrian-American bodybuilder, action star and former California governor, described as Stallone's longtime rival and later friend
Benjamin FranklinAmerican founder credited by Williams with inventing the printing press he used; his portrait appears on the $100 bill
Franklin D. RooseveltU.S. president cited for wartime internment and four election wins
Joe CacciatoreChicago banker, owner of Lakeside Bank, who Williams said mentored him after prison
Richard J. DaleyFormer Chicago mayor from the Bridgeport neighborhood where Williams grew up
Sylvester StalloneAmerican actor, screenwriter and director known for the Rocky and Rambo franchises; author of the memoir The Steps
William FriedkinFilm director heard in an archival clip about counterfeit money made for To Live and Die in L.A.
Johnny KChicago music producer who worked with Disturbed and Fall Out Boy and recorded Williams's son
Kanye WestMusician cited as an example of someone being de-banked after controversial remarks

Topics

From the publisher

Arthur “Art” Williams Jr. is a former counterfeiter known for mastering the 1996 $100 bill. After serving 12 years in prison, he is now an artist and speaker. Art joins Theo to talk about how he was able to counterfeit almost $10M in cash before getting caught, the paranoia that comes with a life of crime, and the best ways to spend fake money. Art Williams Jr.: https://www.instagram.com/arthurjwilliamsjr ------------------------------------------------- Tour Dates! https://theovon.com/tour New Merch: https://www.theovonstore.com ------------------------------------------------- Sponsored By: Celsius: Go to the Celsius Amazon store to check out all of their flavors. #CELSIUSBrandPartner #CELSIUSLiveFit https://amzn.to/3HbAtPJ Shopify: Take control of your income. Start your free trial at http://shopify.com/theo Morgan and Morgan: Visit https://forthepeople.com/THEO to see if you might have a case. Morgan and Morgan. America's Largest Injury Law Firm. Perplexity AI: Ask anything at https://pplx.ai/theo ------------------------------------------------- Music: “Shine” by Bishop Gunn Bishop Gunn - Shine ------------------------------------------------ Submit your funny videos, TikToks, questions and topics you'd like to hear on the podcast to: tpwproducer@gmail.com Hit the Hotline: 985-664-9503 Video Hotline for Theo Upload here: https://www.theovon.com/fan-upload Mail stuff to: ATTN: TPW PO BOX 40137 Nashville TN 37204 ------------------------------------------------ Find Theo: Website: https://theovon.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/theovon Facebook: https://facebook.com/theovon Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thispastweekend X: https://twitter.com/theovon YouTube: https://youtube.com/theovon Clips Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheoVonClips Shorts Channel: https://bit.ly/3ClUj8z ------------------------------------------------ Producer: Zach https://www.instagram.com/zachdpowers Producer: Trevyn https://www.instagram.com/trevyn.s/ Producer:…

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on September 27, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: True Crime·Society & Culture·Visual Arts