CHARGES OF FRAUD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22369, 17 September 1934, Page 11

CHARGES OF FRAUD

"MAJOR CRANE" IN COURT TALK OF £10,000,0Q0 SUIT. The story of a "Major Crane" and his alleged frauds by representing chat he was co-plaintiff with the King in a claim for-- the recovery of about £10,000,000 from a bank was told by counsel at the Police Court at Southwold, Suffolk,' in July. The accused, who was committed for trial, was described as David Percy Caprice, alias Major Leonard T. Crane, timber merchant's traveller, of Hackney, East London. His age was stated to be 32. He was charged with obtaining £659 from Edward Percy Rawlins by virtue of a forged instrument; obtaining £365 with intent to defraud from Oswald Oliver Spindler; and obtaining £450 by false pretences from Ernest Edward Fairhead. ; Prosecuting counsel said, that when Mr Spindler came into contact with Caprice in August, 1933, the latter was describing himself as a King's Messenger and. a major in a regiment which did not exist and never, had existed — the " 2nd King's Horse Guards "—and he represented he was a C.B.E. The accused also told a story about being concerned as a co-plaintiff with no less a person than the King in the recovery of a large sum of money from *ne National Provincial Bank. The sum was, in round figures, £10,000,000. The representation was that if the accused were provided with the necessary to recover this sum those providing' it would be rewarded with about £500,000 each. "So Mr Spindler parted Avith £365," said counsel. Counsel said that Caprice showed a document purporting to be between the King and " Our Beloved Thomas Crane, King's Messenger,". The document opened: "Be it known that our utmost displeasure has been aroused at the treasonable action of the directors of the National Provincial Bank, and we have caused a trial to be ordered in Privy Council > . '. . such trial: to bo held at our House of Lords." The document concluded with a statement that the governors of the Bank of England had been instructed to hand such sums as were set out to Crane. The document was scaled arid signed ,r Sankey, Lord High Chancellor of England." " That is a sample of the documents which were displayed to these men," said counsel. " There are others which will be referred to in evidence. That document and the other documents were all forged by the accused."

Caprice came into contact with Mr Rawlins's housekeeper* Mrs Duke,' who was living apart from her husband and had young children to support. He told her that the rank of major had be<m bestowed on him for his work in the Secret'Service. Eventually he proposed marriage, saying that through powerful friends he would procure her a divorce. The wedding was fixed for January 31, 1934. , The accused took Mrs Duke to the Law Courts and produced various documents. " One purported to show that the divorce had been'arranged through the French Statutory Court," said counsel. Later he produced others purporting to show not only that a decree nisi had been obtained, hut also a decree absolute at the same time. In January the police began to get . interested and visited the Southwold hotel, where Caprice was staying. Then Caprice told Mrs Duke they must go to London to see "Mr Bosanquet about this." Mrs Duke and her mother and Caprice went to London, and Mrs Duke noticed that he was becoming agitated. He purported to telephone "Mr Bosanquet," and then saio* that everything was in order, but eventually Mrs Duke, who had become alarmed, left him. A warrant was issued, but Crane absconded, said counsel, " after staging what would appear to bo some sort of an attempt at suicide at Newhaven." He was arrested on June 19 at Hackney when selling greengrocery from a cart. Oswald Oliver Spindler, a motor dealer, said that Caprice told him if he would put some money into a law case lie had with the National Provincial Bank he would never have to work again. "On several occasions," said witness, "T met him at the Law Courts, Somerset House and the Bank of England. I usually waited while he went inside, and when he came out he would produce a document of some kind and ask for money for legal expenses. " From the outset he swore me to secrecy. He told me I should get locked up if I breathed a word." Defending counsel: When Crane spoke about the King being a co-claimant did you think his Majesty needed financial assistance? —I never gave it a thought. Edward Percy Rawlins, farmer, said that Caprice told him at first he would get £(1000 for £SOO. After producing documents to him he showed him one relating to £510,286. "That was the money I was supposed to get at the final," said Mr Rawlins.

Mrs Muriel Mary Georgina Duke, of Ipswich, said that she was living apart from her husband. In September, 1933, while she was housekeeper to Mr Rawlins, she met acused. Later he proposed marriage, and when she told him she was not free to marry he said that he could make arrangements for a divorce. Prosecuting counsel:, Did he say he was very-friendly with Mr Bosanquet, Registrar of the Supreme Court?—Yes, I understood he was, to be the best man at the wedding. Witness said that the accused showed her a document purporting to be signed by Lord Merrivale. She did not know until later that Lord Merrivale had then ceased to be president of the Divorce Court. Just before she left him the accused presented her with a prayer book with .an inscription: "To my beloved wife Muriel upon our wedding day, from her loving husband Len. 31st Jan., 1934. For ever and ever." A police officer said he had an interview with the accused, who Handed him two documents, saying: "You see for yourself they are Mrs Duke's decree nisi papers. She has' now obtained a divorce and it will be quite in order for the marriage to take place." Frederick Cavendish Southworth, landlord of the Landsdown Arms, Chalk Farm, said that he had advanced £225 to Crane in connection with his supposed action against the National Pro--vincial Bank. "I don't mind admitting that I thought I was going to get £500,000," said witness. A detective said that Caprice made a statement in which he said:

" I was accepted in the distract of Southwold as a single man, and when Mrs Duke asked me to help her to obtain, a divorce, instead of telling ner that her only course was to go "to a solicitor, I wrote out an application form which she accepted as a final decree, although she had seen no other than myself relative to obtaining it. The document was never, seriously intended by me to .be the means of committing bigamy. Another witness, named Bird, said he was. introduced to Caprice by ( a friend named Tim Clapham, who produced a document purporting to be an award from'the law courts to Crane of £32.000. One of the men said it was an award against the National Provincial Bank. Bird said he advanced various sums to enable the money to be released. " It was not my property," he said, "but the money of the Devonshire Loan .Club, of which I was secretary. The accused promised me that he would repay this money in time for the Christmas share-out. He did not do so and I was arrested for fraudulent conversion of the club's money." Subsequently, said Bird, the accused gave him a habeas corpus document signed " Sankey" and purporting to be sworn by Mr Justice Goddard, ordering that when he had given his evid-nce he should be discharged. - " The accused told me," said witness, " that the Clerkenwcll magistrate had Ms instructions, and I took that to mean I was going to be released. The accused said that no doubt T should be sent out of the country and allowed a sum of money to keep me until the case was settled. Ho told me also not to yay anything about the case against the National Provincial Bank as it was under the Official Secrets Act and would get me into serious trouble. The effect of what he said was such that I said absolutely nothing s about the bank case to the magistrate and T was sentenced to six months' imprisonment in the second division." Bird stated that one of the documents shown to him bore the signature " George R. 1." Another was an order for the payment of £13,000.000 to "Major Crane's No. 1 account." The accused was committed for trial on each charge. , t