14 false pretence counts

Press, 25 February 1983, Page 4

14 false pretence counts

An unemployed man. aged 56. was ordered to pay' $250 towards the cost of prosecution and $895 in restitution when he was found guilty in the District Court yesterdayon 14 counts of false pretence.

dairy began to operate at a loss and Mr and Mrs White decided to place the business in receivership to save their money.

Graeme Robert Hewson pleaded not guilty to the charges before Judge Paterson.

Sergeant G. C. Jones told the Court that in August. 1982. Hewson had presented 14 cheques drawn on an account for a dairy which he had owned the previous year. The dairy was placed in receivership and the account closed to Mr Hewson in July. 1981.

Mr G. C. Knight, a lawyer acting for Mr B. B. White and Mrs White, said that Hewson bought the dairy from Mr and Mrs White in March. 1982. Mr and Mrs White left $lO,OOO of the purchase price in the business.

Because of poor business management by Hewson, the

Mr Knight served Hewson with the papers of receivership and explained to him what it meant. He also told him that he could no longer operate the business C.B.A. cheque account. Hewson appeared at first to have difficulty understanding what was happening to his business.

More than $2OOO was left after the shop' was sold and Hewson's debts paid. This was given to the Official Assignee, said Mr Knight. Constable M. Lucas told the Court that on August 27. 1982. he was called to the Alamein Sauna Lounge in Tuam Street where Hewson had tried to pay with a Taihape branch B.N.Z. cheque. The previous evening he had paid with a cheque on the C.B.A. dairy account.

In a written statement to Constable Lucas. Hewson said that he knew that there was no money in the C.B.Aaccount, but that he had written out four or five cheques on that account.

Detective B. R. Pierce said that he interviewed Hewson on October 14 in relation to 14 cheques on the C.B.A. account. Hewson again said in a written statement that he knew there was no moneyin the account. Mr Hewson (Mr P. McMenamin) told the Court that he thought the money left over from the sale of the dairy had been placed in the cheque account and that he could draw on it.

In convicting Hewson, the Judge said that he was satisfied that the defendant's reference to proceeds from the sale of the dairy possiblybeing deposited into the cheque account was "groping for some semblance of defence.” Hewson had not attempted to check if the funds were in the account.