Nevada man pleads guilty in Uganda counterfeiting case
PITTSBURGH – A Nevada man who was still in high school when he allegedly helped distribute counterfeit U.S. currency shipped to him from Uganda has entered a guilty plea in Pittsburgh.
Nineteen-year-old Zackary Ruiz, of Las Vegas, pleaded guilty before a federal judge Tuesday to receiving and reshipping about $250,000 of phony cash.
He’s the second of four men charged in the scheme to plead guilty. He’ll be sentenced April 18.
The alleged ringleader, 28-year-old Ryan Gustafson, is jailed on charges he printed at least $1.4 million in bogus bills while living in Uganda. He allegedly shipped about $400,000 worth to the United States, some of it to Ruiz.
Gustafson has pleaded not guilty. He remains jailed because federal prosecutors said he’s married to former Uganda dictator Idi Amin’s daughter and remains a risk to flee to that nation.