CHARGE AGAINST LAND AGENT

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 261, 31 July 1929, Page 11

CHARGE AGAINST LAND AGENT

GUILTY OF FRAUDULENT CONVERSION

A plea of not guilty was entered in the Supreme Court yesterday by Theodore Melville Jennens, who was charged with the fraudulent conversion of £5O received by him as a land agent. Mr. Justice MacGregor was on the Bench. The foreman of the jury was Mr. H. E. Smith.

Mr. P. S. K. Macassey (Crown Prosecutor), prosecuted, and accused was represented by Mr, B. Egley. Mr. Macassey stated that accused had been authorised by a Mrs. Rennison to sell the lease and the furniture of her boarding-house. On June 5, Miss Nancy Harcourt called on accused in reference to leasing an apartment house, and on June 11 she agreed to purchase Mrs. Rennison’s house on condition that she could get possession within two weeks. The following day, Miss Harcourt paid a deposit of £5O for which she received a receipt. Owing to trouble over getting possession, the deal was called off, and Jennens returned Miss Harcourt’s deposit by a cheque drawn on the Bank of New South Wales, but asked her not to bank it until the end of the week as he had spent some of the money. Miss Harcourt paid the cheque into the Post Office Savings Bank on June 28, it was subsequently returned to her, dishonoured. The matter was reported to the police, who interviewed Jennens, but he refused to give any information on the matter. He later paid the £5O to Miss Harcourt. Evidence corroborating the facts as outlined by Mr. Macassey was given. Mr. Egley stated that he did not intend to call evidence on behalf of accused. or to put accused into the witnessbox. His Honour having summed up, the jury retired at 2.25 p.m., and returned at 3.20 p.m. with a verdict of guilty. The prisoner was remanded until this morning for sentence.