DASH TO LEAVE Bin ARRESTED

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32322, 13 June 1970, Page 40

DASH TO LEAVE Bin ARRESTED

(New Zealand Press Association)

AUCKLAND, June 12.

A company director involved in fraud charges involving $35,000 made a last-minute dash to leave the country but was arrested by police at Auckland International Airport, as the final call for passengers on his intended flight was being made, Mr D. G. Sinclair, S.M., heard today.

The accused, Richard Steele Scott, aged 32, has pleaded guilty to 38 charges involving the issuing of false hirepurchase agreements. Scott is the director of Scotty’s Car Sales, Ltd. The false hire-purchase agreements were made out with intent to gain cheques from the Broadlands Finance Company. Scott was remanded in custody to Friday next for sentence.

Twenty-two similar-charges were brought against Patrick Anthony Darby, aged 25, a company director, involving a different finance company, Credit Services Investment, Ltd, and Gazella Motors, Ltd. He, too, was remanded until June 19, without pleas being taken.

Sergant E. D. Griffiths said that Scott had begun making out the false hire-purchase agreements early in 1969 to gain money from the finance company for private purposes. He began by selling the vehicle concerned to close friends, but soon had made out so many hire-purchase agreements that he had to use false names.

In an effort to prevent the finance company becoming suspicious he leased several Post Office boxes with false names, and made regular payments on the false, agreements.

Scott was finally found out in April when a representative of the finance company questioned one of the agreements. Scott admitted to the company the offences which he had committed. Later that same night, an anonymous call was received bv an airline company askine for a fast flight out of the country,. The caller was told there was a pla<-e available on a flight to Fiii that night 1 The police were informed; that someone wanted to get! out of the country in a

hurry. Meanwhile, Scott had changed a ticket to Sydney for a ticket on the flight to Fiji.

Police arrived at the airport, found and questioned Scott, and arrested him as the final call for passengers on the Fji flight was made.

It was found that Scott owed the finance company $20,000. Some of this sum had been paid since his arrest, but Scott still owed the company more than $12,000.