FALSE SALES ACCOUNTS

Evening Star, Issue 23325, 22 July 1939, Page 11

FALSE SALES ACCOUNTS

AUCTIONEERS FOUND GUILTY [Per United Press Association.] PALMERSTON N., July 21. In the Supreme Court to-day John Richards and Arthur Haines, auctioneers, of Palmerston North, were found guilty on six charges of rendering false accounts of sales and one charge of fraudulently omitting to account for part of the proceeds of a sale of fruit, thereby committing _ theft, and not guilty on the remaining 11 charges of a similar nature. Richards is manager of the Dominion Auctioneering Company, of Palmerston North, and is a licensed auctioneer, and Haines, an employee of the firm, is also a licensed seller. In March certain fruitgrowers in Hastings complained to the police that the Dominion Auctioneering Company had advised them that their fruit had brought a lower price in the firm’s mart than it had actually done. As a result of these complaints certain of the growers and a detective attended at the mart during the fruit sales and took notes of the prices the produce brought. On arrival home they made comparisons with the prices on the advice notes, and found, according to witnesses, lower ones quoted. The police then visited the firm’s offices and took charge of certain books and files in order to conduct an investigation, the result of which, according to police evidence, showed that it was the general practice in advising clients of the results of sales of produce to underquote the selling price. Both the accused were remanded for sentence.