FRAUD ADMITTED

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 10, 12 July 1934, Page 3

FRAUD ADMITTED

YOUTH SENT TO BORSTAL

Two charges of fraud and two of attempted fraud were admitted by Leo Reginald Gornall, aged 20, a labourer; in the Magistrate's Court today, and he was

sentenced by Mr. E. Page, S.M., to Borstal detention for three years on one charge, and was convicted and ordered to come up for sentence if called upon within three years on the other charges.

Gornall was charged with obtaining from ihompsou Bros., Ltd., 1000 cigarettes valued at £2 18s 9d by a false pretence, with attempting to obtain from the same firm 3500 cigarettes valued at £10 6s 9d by a false pretence, with obtaining from Ellis and Manton, Ltd., 20 tins of tobacco and 500 cigarettes, valued at £3 5s '3d by a false pretence, and with attempting to obtain from the latter firm 1500 cigarettes valued at £5 17s 6d by a false pretence. ■ • ■ •

Detective-Sergeant L. Revell. said ' that the accused called on Thompson Bros., and by representing that he was acting for a. businessman in the city obtained a portion of an order which he stated was to be sent to that man. He called for the balance of the order next day,, but the firm became suspicious at its size and delivered it themselves, whereupon • they found that the man concerned had not placed any order. The accused tried a similar deceit upon Ellis and Manton, Ltd., and was successful the first time, but [when he went back for the second lot I Detectives Brosnan and Hayhurst arrested him. He had sold the goods.to local billiard saloons, saying that they were bankrupt stock. '■■■.'

The accused belonged' to a highly-re-spected family, said the' detective-sergeant and they had done their best for him, but he preferred to associate with the lowest class ol! undesirables, and another man implicated m the frauds was a well-knowt criminal. The accused.had been before the Court previously for theußjawful conversion of a motor-cycle. The detectivesergeant recommended Borstal.

Remarking that the Probation Officer agreed that some form of-supervision was necessary, Mr. Page 'imposed a sentence of three years' Borstal detention.