CREDIT BY FRAUD

Northern Advocate, 6 February 1934, Page 11

CREDIT BY FRAUD

RADIO SETS ACQUIRED. MAN SENT TO GAOL. i (Special to "Northern Advocate,”) AUCKLAND, This Day. In addition to serving a. three mouths ’ sentence in Mt. Eden , prison, John Smeardon Downey, aged' 29, is 'waiting sentence ;;in the. Supreme Court on a of making a false declaration concerning a postal pae-, ‘ket, and he was/ brought before Mi' W. R. McKean,V S.M., in the Police Court yesterday, on two further jf , ’ >'" r Downey pleaded guilty to charges of incurring a debt or liability with H. B. Arthur, radio dealer, obtaining a radio set valued at £29, arid obtaining credit by fraud and stealing a radio set Avortn £2O 5/, the property of H. .B. Arthur. Detective-Sergeant McHugh said Downey first of all obtained a radio Set on the hire-purchase agreement. He/ did not keep up his payments, and when Mr Arthur went down and saw him, Downey said he had sold the set to a man at Te Aroha for £lO. However, neither - the purchaser nor the set could be traced. Subsequently, Downey approached Arthur and represented that he had a prospective ‘buyer for another set. Downey was ■given a set to demonstrate, and also -the necessary hire-purchase form. He ■said the map had bought ( the set and paid a deposit of £5. No instalments were paid for some time, but Downey later called and paid £7. Afterwards he admitted, that he had sold the set for £8 to a. city auction firm. •Since thou the set was resold by the 'auctioneers for £2O, and the purchaser refused to hand it over, claiming that be had bought it legitimately. Downey was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment.