A "Millionaire" Rogue.

Bruce Herald, Volume XXXXIV, Issue 56, 18 June 1908, Page 6

A "Millionaire" Rogue.

In an obscure lodging-house in Soho death put an end the other day to the career of one of the most daring criminals of modern times. Richard Benham—which was the name of the dead maiiT-during his lifetime brought ruin to hundreds of people. The son of a lawyer's clerk, Benham first got into difficulties in 1878, when he raised money by stories of wealth and landed estate. A bank manager, lending him with which to secure certain deeds, Benham went to Brussels, Here he was arrested for uttering fictitious cheques. His arrest led to the discovery that the " leases" which he held of certain property in Charing Cross and Picca " diily were forgeries. In 1884 Benham opened a bank at Charing Cross, called the " Western Bank of London." It " ran " for six months, and then suddenly closed down. Two years later this master criminal commenced a series of frauds on the London and General Bank wh'ch led to the downfall of that institution. They covered a period of seven years, and culminated in Benham being sentenced to fourteen years' penal servitude, and his brother Alfred receiving five years' hard labor. It was computed that the bank lost altogether ,£49,000. Of this sum over £40,000 was by means of a forged will. It purported to be that of Benham's father bequeathing to him property in Galicia, Finsbury, Tredegar square, and Seven Sisters road, London, together with shares in a company worth £40,000. As a matter of lact, Benham's father died penniless, but on the strength of the forgery the bank advanced him the money. Pressed to prove the will Benham made several excuses and finally said he had lost the document. While he was carrj ing on this career of fraud, Benham lived in Piccadilly in " style," keeping horses and carriages, and boasti'ug of his great wealth. He also kept establishments at Brighton and Tunbridge Wells, obtaining goods from tradesmen by cheques drawn on a bogus bank. At Tunbridge Wells he obtained £2,000 from a Mr Roley, and established a volunteer fire brigade. Neither the fire engines nor the firemen's uniforms were, however, paid for. One of Benham's favourite roles was that of a philanthropic millionaire. His plausible vvay and a lavish display of bogus documents deluded even men cf long experience. He had, in fact, a genius for swindling. The late Mr Mundella, who was vice-president of the Council for Education in Mr Gladstone's Government of 1880, and subsequently President of the Board of Trade, was completely deceived by his " tall talk," and the Minister's innocent association with an enterprise with which Benham was connected wrecked (in 1894) his political career. After making in the House of Commons a pathetic explanation of his position, Mr Mundella resigned office. At the time of Benham's death detectives were at his heels for complicity in a bogus bank business. The circumstances of his death were mysterious. Benham confided to a friend who had given him lodgings that he had come to the end of his tether. '' I have been a wicked man and a terrible liar, but it is all over now," he remaiked. He lay on a sofa sipping a Cup. of tea when his friend went out of the.room. When he returned Benham was-dead. Benham married a lady of means, bnt he squandered her fortune.