WOMAN BANKRUPT

Auckland Star, Volume LXXV, Issue 181, 2 August 1944, Page 2

WOMAN BANKRUPT

COURT TRIAL ENDS CONVICTED ON ONE COUNT

After a trial of two days before Mr. Justice Fair and a jury on 15 charges of breaches of the Bankruptcy Act, Dorothy Carter, a married woman (Mr. Noble), was yesterday afternoon acquitted on 14 of the charges, and was found guiity on one count of having failed to deliver up to the Official Assignee assets which were part of her estate, including frigidaire, grand piano, tapestries and motor car. The Crown case was conducted by Mr. G. S. R. Meredith.

A woman witness called at the request of the jury said she had introduced to accused some of the other women who had lent money to accused. Witness herself had lan l accused money and goods to the value of £2750, receiving a promissory note for £5000, representing compound interest. Accused, said witness, told her she had sold out a land agency business and had put her money out at interest. Accused asked witness if she had any money, as she could get wonderful interest. In her own defence accused made a statement from the dock. She said she borrowed money at high interest to improve her farm properties at Howick and Hunua at a time wiisn she had expectation of getting £1000 from a former husband's estate. From the latter source she got only £150, and her present husband was called up for Army service, leaving her in difficulties as to labour for working the- farms. There were farm losses, and she could find no sale for the Hunua property, for which she had expected to get £500. In his summing up his Honor directed the jury that the charges of obtaining a loan of £400 by false •representation that she was very financial Was under a section of the Act contemplating property other than money. He also said the offence of not keeping books for farming was not in the spirit of the provision, and directed a finding of not guilty on that charge. As to the other charges, accused must have known that her position was deteriorating after 1941 when she borrowed money, and that when she obtained credit for £42 rent she d<d not disclose that she was an undischarged bankrupt. During his Honor's address accused collapsed in the dock. The jury's verdict was returned after a retirement of over two hours. Accused was remanded till to-mor-row for sentence on the one offence of which she had been found guilty.