PENSIONS FRAUD

Southland Times, Issue 19170, 14 February 1924, Page 5

PENSIONS FRAUD

EX-CLERK FORGES CERTIFICATES. INGENIOUS SCHEME FAILS. (Per United Press Association.) WELLINGTON, February 13. Nicholas Peters, aged 26 years, and his wife, Olive Mavis Peters, aged 23, appeared at the Magistrate’s Court charged on ten counts of obtaining money from various Post Offices by means of forged documents, and obtaining £975 from the New Zealand Government by means of false documents. Peters was employed in the Pensions Department in Wellington as a casual clerk from April 1, 1920, till August 31, 1923. Just prior to leaving the Department he Issued five War Pension certificates and five agents’ warrants’ for back pay on war pensions. The former represented £5B 10/- and the latter £136 10/-. One each of these was sent to Palmerston North, New Plymouth, Wanganui and Wellesley St. and Ponsonby (Auckland). On his leaving the Department he and his wife went to these places, the wife presenting certificates corresponding with the advices sent to the Post Offices and collecting £195 at each place. The last amount was drawn at Ponsonby on September 6 and the following day both left for Sydney by the Ulimaroa. All the advices of pensions and warrants were made out to fictitious persons, and were forged by the male accused on official forms. The pair were arrested in Melbourne on January 3. George Fache, Commissioner of Pensions, stated he knew accused as a clerk in the Pensions Office. He resigned from the Department in August, 1923. For about a year prior to that accused was receiving £4 12/6 per week. His duty consisted partly of dealing with unclaimed pensions advices returned from various paying offices throughout the Dominion and marking them off in the charge books. When there was a rush of work he was often engaged in issuing pension certificates and advices to various offices. Witness produced ( ten pensions advice forms containing fictitious names and amounts. Accused was aware of the Department’s system and knew the forms would not be received by the Pensions Office for a week or ten days after being operated upon by the Post Offices. Through the medium of the ten advices the Government had been defrauded of £975. Detective Nuttall said that on January 18 in Melbourne he interviewed the two accused. Both admitted the offences. Peters admitted that a few days before resigning from the Department he sent ten advices to various offices, two to each. Pensions certificates and agents’ warrants were also issued, and pensions were drawn by his wife. His wife had at all times been strongly against the affair, but he had persuaded het to go through with, it and had travelled witß her. The admission of the offences by the two accused and their intimation that they would plead guilty made unnecessary the calling of a number of witnesses from the five towns in the North Island, and the evidence outlined was all that was called. Both accused pleaded guilty, and were committed to the Supreme Court for sentence.