A BETTING FRAUD.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16797, 28 July 1922, Page 7

A BETTING FRAUD.

BATHROOM AS OFFICE. THE GULLIBLE PUBLIC. By Telegraph—Press Association— Copyright Australian and N.Z. Cable Association. (Received July 28, Noon). LONDON, July 27. George Hunt, who was arrested in January last on a charge of obtaining money by false pretences, was found guilty and sentenced to three years’ penal servitude. Two other men. Parsons and Walters, were* found guilty of conspiracy, and sentenced to twelve months' and nine months’ imprisonment respectively in tho second division. Astounding evidence was given. Hunt was a carpenter at Brighton when he conceived a betting scheme. He commenced circularising and advising clients to invest from £SO to £IOO. He said that £ICO would bring £l7 weekly. One witness gave evidence that be put in £2400 and received back £I6OO. Another gave evidence that £245.000 was deposited in one bank account between September, 1920, and August, 1921. The sum of £I3O,(MX) was paid into another bank. Apparently the total income between June. 1919, and September. 1921, was £510,000, of which £465,000 was paid out. but the facts have not been fully cleaned up. Tho business at this time was being conducted from a bathroom. The defence pleaded that Hunt was now penniless. He was a dull and slow-witted man who worked * out a system of batting. Business rushed in with such a pace that Hunt had neither the ability nor the staff to deal with it. Bungling and stupidity of this kind was not a crime. The jury, however, refused to accept the plea. Action was first taken in this case by Air Harold Lloyd, a solicitor of ] Cardiff, on whose application a warrant was issued for the arrest cf Hunt, a Londoner, on a charge of having obtained £SOO by false pretences from a professional backer. Mr Lloyd stated thjit the matter was connected with a bogus turf scheme, by which £3,500,000 had been obtained from people, in various parts of the country. The money had been obtained in response to advertisements guaranteeing a dividend or interest, van’ing from £lB to £5 weekly The case created tremendous interest in South Wales.