BUYING ON A BILLHEAD.

Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 197, 20 August 1919, Page 10

BUYING ON A BILLHEAD.

A BUSINESS SWINDLER. >KXTEN\KD TO GAOL. An elderly man, of prosperous and dignified appearance, who was indicted under the names of James H. Johnson, alias W. R. Hill, alias John Hore (62), canie before Mr. Justice Chapman at the Supreme Court yesterday on a charge of having obtained credit for. just on £50 worth of <roods in 1014 from Auckland merchants by fraud. The evidence presented by the Crown was to the effect that accused, using a billhead which bore 7-he printed superscription, " Jas. H. Johnson, produce and freneral dealer. Ne-.v Plymouth.'' sent orders by post in l'.iU to" Auckland fruit merchants lor comparatively small quantities of r oods, and promirtly met the bills. Followed a number of larfier order-s which wore fulfilled promptly, but no payment arrived. Inquiries" made resulted in the

information that practically all the fruit had Keen s-olu , in auction rooms in Xevp Plymouth for what it would !>rin<r, without reserve, and the vendor, who was ■not known in New Plymouth as a dealer, had disappeared. In July this year inquiries <anie from the South about a *-deaW who was ordprinjr produce larnelv hy post, and the police discovered that aniseiLposinj as " \V. R. Hall, produce dealer, of Hamilton," was auctioning off in Auckland larsre quantities of produce which was arriving Tiv ship from the South. He was identified as '"Johnson." who had auctioned the fruit at "N.-w Plymouth in 1014. It was found Iliat. he kid come from Australia in .April. ordered quantities of proiluce bypost on a system similar to that used in- "•Johnson." and was selling off the produce at auction rooms with little rejrnrd to price, havinsr received £750 from the sal... in May and Juno. He had a pas-port i:i Hie name of '-.Tolin llorc." and had made arrangements for his return to Australia. l»nt was held up by Ihe dclav of the SydnPV steamer in leaving Auckland nhen the police arrested liiiu.

Mr. Allan Mlo.lv. fnr the defence, did ■not put bis client in tlie box. but in his submitted that it wns a ease of thp criminal Court to settle a civil deht. The method adopted b\- aectiserl of settinjr credit l,y payinjr for first orders was not unusual, be areued. and the business people in this case did not try their civil remedy.

The jury returned a verdict of miilty. and bis Honor «taterl that be was = a tis f-d that accused was an a-compli.shcd ■windier, *hn u-ed hU appearance and bU knowledge of business practice to carry out bis frauds. H was obvious that lie had been livinjr In- this method for some years. He would be sentenced ■to eighteen months' imprisonment with lard labour.