$49,000 fraud offences alleged

Press, 12 July 1979, Page 5

$49,000 fraud offences alleged

An unemployed car sales-> man who faces 18 charges in-l< volving $49,300 was remand-) ed on bail of $15,000 when he i appeared in the Magistrate’s[Court before Mr D. B. Pain.) I|S.M., yesterday. ) Christopher Cliff Morris,) aged 25, elected trial by jury) •lon all charges. He was re-) 'jmanded to August 13 for the) • j taking of depositions. I He is alleged to have fraud-) julentlv obtained about) I $37,000 from Motor Trade Fi-| I nances. Ltd, and to have sto-| len $12,000 from P.D.L. Mo-) , J tors, Ltd, while he was employed by them. j All the alleged offences are I said to have taken place be-) j tween April, 1977, and July) [last year. ) The Magistrate, at t'he request of counsel (Mr K. N.| Hampton) renewed Morris’s self bail of $5OOO with two sureties of the same amount. Morris was also ordered to report daily to the police. - 14 OFFENCES ) Kevin Mosen, aged 22. convicted on a total of 14

> charges, was remanded in [Custody to July 18 for a probation report and sentence. ) The defendant admitted two charges of theft, one of ; converting a car, two of burglary, eight of incurring, la debt by false pretence, and) I one . charge of dangerous | driving. j Sergeant J. McCormick I said the defendant when apprehended on a motoring offence had readily admitted all I the offences. | From May 17 to July 3 the ) defendant booked into nine imotels, all of which he had (left either without paying the bills or by charging them up jto various firms. The defendant had committed the burgilaries while staying at some of the motels, said Sergeant I McCormick. ’ The offending had occurred at Auckland, Christ- ' church, Wairaki, Blenheim, 1 Dunedin, Queenstown and at Hastings. Compensation sought from the defendant was $llO4, said I Sergeant McCormick.

PERIODIC DETENTION I A man who took from a hotel notice board an. Inland Revenue cheque which he had then attempted to cash, was sentenced to periodic de- ; tention for five months. ; David John Nash, aged 29, ; last week was convicted on a charge that on June 22 j ■ with intent to defraud he) I took an Inland Revenue De-; partment cheque, made out) t for $434, in order to obtain a pecuniary advantage. The defendant had been unsuccessful as at the bank- ’ he had been told he had to deposit the cheque into an account before it could be ’ withdrawn. Later the defendant had signed the cheque over to a ‘ girl whom he knew to put in t her bank account. The girl. Linda Ann Rich- - ardson, aged 18, also convict- - ed of using the cheque on , June 26 with intent to det fraud, was released on probation for 18 months. i When apprehended Rich--1 ardson had told the police she had a fair idea it had

[been a stolen cheque, but that) I she w'as trying to help a friend. The Magistrate told Nash) that he had a variey of pre-) vious convictions Which had attracted a variety of penal- i . ties. Periodic detention had ne- ( ver been imposed and. said; ■ithe Magistrate, he could sees good reasons for such a sentence this time. h Of Richardson the Magis-) Itrate said he accepted that, '[she w'as not the instigator ; [and that it was her first of--1 fence. 1 ■ He w'as satisfied, he added. : [ that steps must be taken to [counsel the defendant in cruder to prevent possible future offending. i BURGLARY ADMITTED A machine worker, aged - 21, earlier convicted on four i charges of burglary and one) - of possessing an instrument - capable of being used fori burglary, was sentenced to] - periodic detention for six j months. 1 Walter Wati Waerea had

(admitted breaking and entering four Christchurch prop-. ierties on June 18 and 19 and jof having a burglary instru- ■ ment — a glove — in his possession on June 19. : The Magistrate was told property and cash to a total lvalue of almost $9OO had been! i taken while damage, esti-i i mated at $2lO, had been done! Ito these properties. All the; (property was later recovered. I The Magistrate told Wae- : rea that his background his- ■ Tory and the probation report I made depressing reading. He' I said the defendant had not .jenjoyed a full year’s liberty: i(since he was 14. In addition to the sentence ii of periodic detention the defendant was released on probation for 18 months. On the four charges of bur--1 glary the defendant was given a two-year suspended ti sentence. :j He was ordered to place | his finances under the conJjtrol of the probation officer, and to pay compensation of i' $2lO.