LONG CARRER OF FRAUD

Taranaki Daily News, 14 July 1933, Page 9

LONG CARRER OF FRAUD

IN PRISON SENTENCE. DAVID SCROGIE AGAIN IN COURT. An addition of -three months to the term of imprisonment he is already serving was imposed upon David Scrogie, who after being convicted the previous day and sentenced to three months’ gaol to be concurrent with his earlier sentences, appeared again in. the New Plymouth Police Court yesterday to answer two further charges of false pretences relating to offerees in the Auckland district. The charges were that Scrogie obtained from Albert Brown £3 3s, the property, of the Passenger Transport Co. Ltd., by a valueless cheque to that amount at Otahuhu on April 13; and that he obtained from Caroline Ryan at Ramarama on April 29 the sum of £1 17s 6d, the property ■of Frank Jowsey, by falsely representing that he represented the Service Advertising Co., Hastings, and that he would have Jowsey’s business advertised in his company’s motor-service time-table, Scrogie pleaded guilty to both charges and elected to be dealt with summarily. Senior-Sergeant Turner said Scrogie called at Jowsey’s place of business, where Miss Ryan was in• charge, and represented that he was acting on behalf of a motor transport company operating between Auckland and Wellington, and he wanted Jowsey to become a subscriber towards the service. He showed a number of a paper purporting to be the names of other subscribers. On Jowsey’s instructions Miss Ryan, paid him £1 17s 6d, for which he gave a receipt. Scrogie also went to Rose’s garage at Point Chevalier and said he represented the Service Advertising. Company, Hastings, and was publishing a time-table in which he desired -to • advertise the services from Rose’s garage. An advertisement was authorised and a cheque for £3 3s was made out and given to Scrogie. It was marked “not- negotiable.” Later, in consequence of what he heard, Rose stopped payment of the cheque and when he. next- saw Scrogie he told him he wished to. cancel his advertisement. Scrogie stated he had just cashed the ’cheque. This was found to be untrue, but it was found he had gone to Otahuhu and cashed the cheque with Albert Brown. •

The case relating to the cheque was a different class of offence from those dealt with the previous day, said the .magistrate (Mr. W. H. .Woodward), and he thought it called for additional punishment. He was aware Scrogie was serving a term of twelve months’ imprisonment, but he had been victimising the public over a considerable period and it might have been that the magistrate at Palmerston North would have imposed a heavier penalty if he had known of these offences.

“Yesterday,” said the magistrate to Scrogie, “I did not add to your term cf imprisonment because the offences to which you plead guilty were similar to those for which you were sentenced at Palmerston.” , ... On this charge the magistrate entered a conviction and imposed a term of three months’ imprisonment, to be cumulative on the sentence at present being served. On the other charge Scrogie was convicted and discharged.