Trial elected on forgery, fraud charges

Press, 23 August 1979, Page 7

Trial elected on forgery, fraud charges

A Christchurch accountant, who faces 13 charges of fraud and forgery involving $26,000, elected trial by jury when he appeared before Mr J. S. Bisphan, S.M., in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday. John Bruce Tustin, aged 30, is alleged to have committed the offences in Auckland and Christchurch during June and July.

Tustin was remanded to September 13 for the taking of depositions. He was allowed bail of $lOOO with two sureties of $2OOO, and ordered to report daily to the police. An application by counsel (Mr K. J. Jones) for the interim suppression of the defendant’s name was declined by the Magistrate. RECEIVING ALLEGED An opossum trapper charged with receiving an unknown quantity of opossum skins, to a total value of $15,000, was remanded without plea to August 29. Darryl Wayne McGregor, aged 54, is alleged to have received the skins, the property of Dalgetys, New Zealand, Ltd, from a person or persons unknown. He is also charged with breaking and entering the firm’s Strathallan Street woolstore. Both the alleged offences are said to have occurred at Dunedin between August 16 and 20. Bail was opposed by Sergeant G. C. Jones. "Hie duty solicitor (Mr J. A. Robertson) sought that the matters be transferred to the

Magistrate’s Court at Dunedin. The Magistrate ordered that the remand be in custody. FRAUD OFFENCES Two solo mothers, who made a total of 64 toll calls which they charged to other subscribers’ accounts, were convicted on charges of fraud and remanded on bail to August 29 for probation reports and sentence. Teiwi Eva Thompson, aged 25, pleaded guilty to 54 charges of defrauding the Post Office, involving $565, and Rosemary Ruihi Matenga, aged 26, admitted 10 charges involving $lll. All the offences occurred between December, last year, and February. Sergeant G. C. Jones said last November both defendants had been told by an associate that they could make toll calls from a public telephone kiosk by getting the charges transferred to the numbers of other subscribers.

The defendants had picked out these numbers at random from the telephone directory, said the sergeant. From January the Post Office began receiving complaints from subscribers about the charges of toll calls to Wanganui, which appeared on their accounts. Sergeant Jones said when apprehended Thompson had told the police she had telephoned friends in Wanganui, involving a number of hotels in the district in an effort to locate her boy-friend. Matenga had also admitted that having very little money she had made the calls because she had also wanted to speak to friends in Wanganui.

Compensation of $565 was sought from Thompson and $lll from Matenga, said Sergeant Jones. Thompson was allowed bail of $5OO and Matenga $3OO. THEFT CHARGE A secretary, charged with stealing various sums of money totalling $5824 from her employer, was remanded to August 29 without plea. Maureen Ann Hill, aged 19, is alleged to have stolen the! money from Ross Bullock,! Ltd, between May 5 and August 2. She was allowed bail of • $2OOO and ordered to report i daily to the police.