A BOGUS LOTTERY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19617, 22 October 1925, Page 9

A BOGUS LOTTERY

SWEEPSTAKE ON NEW ZEALAND CUP. PROMOTER HEAVILY FINED. Pnu A«»oci»tion —By Tfllejpraph—Copyricbt SYDNEY, October 21. ’■ Richard Abbott, alias Rex Freeman, an agent, pleaded guilty to being the occupier of a room used for the purpose of receivng money relating to the New Zealand sweep Stake. The police gave evidence that 15,000 books of tickets were printed, each book containing eleven 5s tickets, which would have returned the promoters about £37,500. The prizes totalled about £IO,OOO, but no arrangements had been made for drawing the sweep. Defendant gave evidence that the promoters had kept a record of every one who sent money for tickets, and now that the mutter had been nipped in the bud steps would be taken to refund the money. The bulk of the money had been sent back to New Zealand. Abbott was fined £IOO, and Phillip Lussich, printer, was fined, £2O for printing tickets without attaching thereto his name and place of abode. A message received on October 14 stated that the police detained a man and a woman as they were leaving the Post Office with a large number of letters from New Zealand containing a large amount of money for tickets in a bogus sweep, which they allege the man was conducting. The ‘p°li ce stated that the man sent books of tickets to people in towns all over New Zealand, with a. letter explaining liow the sweep was to bo run. The sweep was on the New' Zealand Cup, to be run at in November, and was called the “The New Zealand Sweep.” The prize money totalled £IO,OOO, the first prize being £SOOO.