FOURTEEN DUPES OF A CLEVER WOMAN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 12955, 26 August 1905, Page 2 (Supplement)

FOURTEEN DUPES OF A CLEVER WOMAN.

By a clever trick a young l'a'risieiine has made thousands of pounds out of 14 men. She look Her valuable jewels to London and had them reset in imitation diamonds and coloured pearls. This done, she pawned them at the Mont-de-Piete for £1000. Her next step was to obtain a receipt signed by a complaisant dealer in pawn-tickets stating that the jewels in question were set in diamonds and pearls. An advertisement was inserted in leading papers stating that a lady moving ir the best circles, but in temporary pecuniary .difficulties, desired to meet with a person of means willing to enable her to redeem and sell some valuable jewellery. A good commission was premised. As soon as a dupe appeared she explained that, as the Montt-de-Piete does not lend money on diamonds and pearls, her jewellery, upon which she had obtained a loan of £4000 was worth live times that sum. Artful references to aristocratic friends and acquaintances, to successes at the Opera Continue, to her dear departed father, " a high military officer," generally sufficed, to convince the victim that the. lady's acquaintance was highly desirable, and the speculation a profitable one, He, as a rule, not only willingly advanced the 100,000 francs necessary to redeem the pledge, but added 30,000 Lo 40,000 francs to enable the lady to meet pressing demands until the jewellery could be sold. The jewels having been redeemed, the lady and her dupe would proceed to a jeweller's to offer them for sale. The offer was, of course, refused, the practised eye of the jeweller detecting straightway that the diamonds and pearls were imitation. The lady protested that she was the victim of a. swindler who must have cleverly substituted the false for'thc real while professing to test them. The real dupe took pity on her, and was only too glad to pawn the jewels once more for £1000, without insisting on being paid his advances in full. This went on well for some years. As the lady netted each time from £1000 to £1500 on the transaction, three or four in the course of the year were sufficient to keep her in affluence.

Fourteen dupes either believed the lady's innocence, or, at any rate, look the loss in silence. The fifteenth, a well-to-do provincial tradesman, the lady actually persuaded to accompany her to London, as she had good connections among London jewellers, and might, therefore, she said, obtain a higher price. This victim was Hewed to the extent of £2500, and at once proceeded to sue the lady for fraud.