STRANGE STORY OF FRAUD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9082, 16 June 1888, Page 3 (Supplement)

STRANGE STORY OF FRAUD.

Henri Castelxau, Alexandra Martinet, chemist, and Marie Prouteau, Castelnau's .servant, were put on their trial on April 23, at Versailles, on a charge of concocting a false certificate of death. As Juliana Metz had not been given up by the Government of Austria, in which country she is about to be tried, she did not appear, but was included in the indictment. The confossion of all the main facts by the chief delinqunet lessens the interest of the trial, but the conspiracy (says a Paris correspondent) was one of peculiar audacity, the victims being English life insurance companies. A German adventurer, named Scheurer, had married an American wife at Brooklyn, but not finding her rich, had deserted her. He came to Paris in 1883 with his mistress, Juliana Metz, and conceived the idea of insuring his life in English offices, and of pretending to be dead. He had formerly been an agent for insurance companies, and accordingly effected insurances for £8500. Some months afterwards a certificate of death at Meudon being sont in, the companies paid the policies. Mario Prouteau, however, gossiped to the servant who had succeeded her at Castelnau's, the lattor repeated her story, and an anonymous letter reached the companies. It was then discovered that Scheurer was still living, that the man who had died was really named Carl Glockner, that Casteltmu, a doctor and Anarchist orator at Paris, was a party to the fraud, and that the chemist Martinet had received 23,000f. for having secured the consumptive patient Glockner, a journeyman brewer, who was to bo passed off on death as Scheurer. The last-named meanwhile had neutralised himself in Canada, and takon tho name of Clarence Percy Robert, had bigamously married Juliana at Brighton, and had gone with her to Austria. On hearing that the fraud had been detected, Scheurer went to Italy, but learning that Juliana had been arrested with £8000 in her possession, he committed suicide,at Como. He left a paper avowing his guilt and exonerating Juliana. Several witnesses were examined.

On April 25 Dr. Castelnau and M. Martinet were found "Guilty," the former being , sentenced to eight, and the latter, as an accomplice of Dr. Castelnau, to five years' imprisonment. The foaialo prisoner was acquitted.