MONEY BY FRAUD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19882, 28 February 1928, Page 12

MONEY BY FRAUD.

BUSINESS MAN'S OFFENCES.

LARGE AMOUNT OBTAINED. DETENTION FOR TWO YEARS. . A business man who obtained £1565 by what the Judge described as " a fraudulent trick," was sentenced to two years' reformative detention by Mr. Justice Reed in the Supreme Court yesterday. The prisoner was William Maddson Alt (Mr. Lovegrove), who had pleaded guilty to obtaining by false pretences from the New Zealand Guarantee Corporation, Ltd., three sum* amounting to £1565. Mr. Lovegrove said Alt was an American citizen by birth, the son of English parents, who migrated to the United States, and both died when ho was a child. He worked his way up to a very responsible position in cotton works in Atlantic City, and in 1924 he was engaged by an Australian weaving firm to manage its works at Wentworth. He left the firm after 18 months with the highest testimonials from the management and his fellow-employees. Fascinated by Auckland. Prisoner intended to return to America but his wife became fascinated by Auckland, and persuaded hirri to establish himself here. He entered into the motor industry at Drury and secured the agency of a well-known American car. He proved most, inexpert in the conduct of business on his own behalf, gave credit in a most indiscriminate manner and sold cars ou ridiculous terms that caused him serious losses. He sold the business last June, and found himself with numerous secondhand cars he could not sell. His wife purchased a small grocery business at Papakura and he set up a depot for the sale of second-hand cars. He conceived the idea of raising credits on fictitious hire-purchase agreements, so as to impress principals in America, with a view to securing from them a motorcar agency. He went to Honolulu toward the end of last December with the intention of returning, and while there he was arrested on these charges. Since his return he had done all in his power to make good the wrong he had done. His wife also had nobly come forward and assigned all her property to the Public Trustee, and it was hoped that, as a result, it would be possible to make restitution in full. The prisoner deeply regretted that the confidence shown in him by the Guarantee Corporation had been so misplaced. Protection o 1 the Public. His Honor said it appeared that up to a certain stage the prisoner bad borne an exemplary character. Probably, if it had not oeen so he would not have been able to carry out these frauds. It was impossible to pass over an offence of this sort in a lenient manner. It appeared that on December 1, December 5 and December 10 he obtained snms totalling £1565 by a fraudulent trick and the use of false documents. In a few days he disappeared from New Zealand, and His Honor had not the slightest doubt that his intention was to get away somewhere and ui\e this capital to start over again. He had to consider the matter from the point of view of the protection of the public. It was painful for a man who. had held his head up among business men to come down like this, but His Honor had his duty to do. The accused would be detained for reformative purposes for a period of two years. Mr. Meredith, Crown Prosecutor, said when accused was arrested a sum of £7OO, proceeds of the fraud, was found upon him.

An order was made for the money to be returned to the Guarantee Corporation.