Illegal Immigrants Face Sentencing in Pennsylvania Counterfeiting

PITTSBURGH -- Two illegal Mexican immigrants are set for sentencing before a federal judge in Pittsburgh for possessing nearly $39,000 worth of high quality counterfeit $100 bills.

Federal investigators have said they may never determine where the men got the bills before they were arrested for passing about $1,500 worth of fake money at a Macy's department store near Washington, Pa. in October.

Thirty-one-year-old Alejandro Vargas Ceron and 23-year-old Israel Leyva Sanchez, both gave New York City addresses, but also had Mexican identification cards and were in the country illegally. They'll automatically be deported after serving the sentences scheduled to be imposed Wednesday afternoon.

Investigators say the bills were created using an offset printer and bleached paper, which typically signals a more organized and sophisticated scheme than counterfeiters who use scanners and computer printers.