ALLEGED FRAUD

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 1, 26 September 1918, Page 8

ALLEGED FRAUD

EX-AUCTIONEER CHARGED

COMMITTED FOR TRIAL

At the Magistrate's Court yesterday, before Mr. F. V. Frazer, S.M., six charges of fraud were preferred against George Blake, ex-auctioneer, who bad recently been "declared bankrupt. .The charges, which were similar in character, had reference to the 'wiving of various articles and fraudulently failing to account for cither the articles or the proceeds of sales, to those persons who had forwarded the goods to the accused's auction mart. The. charges were: (1) rhvii:/: sold by auction an Allday's motor-cycle, value £10 10s.. the property of Sutherland and Rankine. did fail to pay the proceeds to Sutherland and RanluM; (2) did omit to account for £18. the proceeds of the sale of a piano to F. J. Pinny, Ltd., thereby' committing theft: (3) did omit to accouiA for the proceeds of sale of n duchess, table, nnd cycle (£2 11s. fid.), to Olive Eva Smith : (4) did omit to account for £'28 125., the proceeds of a snle of furniture, to Edith Huntley; (5) did omit to account for £2 9s. 6d., proceeds of the sale of a bedstead., wire mattress,; and music-stool, to John Fuller; (6). did omit to account k'or £2 7s. (proceeds of the sale of a table and bin) to Herbert Henry Smith. Chief-Detective Boddam prosecuted, and Mr. P. W. Jackson appeared for the accused. Mr. Boddam stated that during the years 1915, 1916.. and 1917 the accused was in business as an auctioneer nt 53 Cuba. Street, but on December 31, 1917, his license expired. On April 10. 1918, he filed a petition in bankruptcy, which was now under review by the Official Assignee. Leslie Pearson, managing director of P. J. Pinny and Co., Ltd., said that about April 16, 1915, a piano was sent to Blake ar.d Co.'s auction room to be sold on the firm's behalf. A reserve price of £18 was placed on the instrument, lip to the present time nothing had been received for the piano, nor had it been returned. About three mouths after the instrument was pent to the auction room, witness, alrtet several attempts, got into communication with Blake, himself, who denied ever having received the piano. Witness, however, had visited the auction room several times, and had seen the piano there himself. It disappeared from the auction room later, but witness was unable to say whether it had been sold or not. Evidence of a similar character was given by former owners of goods as set out in the charges, except that it had been denied that the articles had been received at the auction mart. Detective-Sergeant; Lewis prodnced slips secured from the Acting-Ofiicial Assignee, in the handwriting of. tho accused, setting out the transactions in reference to the articles mentioned in the informations, showing commissions, cliarges, etc.-. Mr. P. W. Jackson, for the defence, contended that the whole caso rested upon tho word "fraudulently." A proviso of section 242 of tho Auctioneers Act required that all transactions should be duly entered up in the auctioneer's book, and if ihat were done a charge of fraud could not he preferred against tho auctioneer. The prosecution had fully proved that the goods had been received, and that neither tho goods nor the proceeds of sales had been accounted for, but the prosecution lmd entirely failed to provo fraud. Furthermore, no one knew the position of Blake's estate, and quite possibly ■there might be sufficient to meet the demands of the creditors, who, Mr. Jackson contended, had a civil claim against the accused, and could not proceed agaiftst him on a criminal charge. The said he could not accept tlie responsibility of deciding whether tlittre had been fraud or not. Notwithstanding the fact that Blake had complied with the proviso in the Act, it was his duty to render account sales within fourteen dnys, and the money received on account of sales should have been lodged in a separate trust account, which could not bo drawn upon to meet the auctioneer's debts. Some of the charges dealt with a period when the accused was no longer an auctioneer, and when people went to do business with him he did not acquaint them with the fact that he had copsed to be an auctioneer, but received their goods, and that was the last the owners heard of them. Mr'. Jackson then intimated that ho desired to call a witness. William Walter Samson, Acting-Offi-cial Assignee, in referring to the system adopted by the accused in his book-ieeping, stated that the bankrupt's estate ho considered would pay a very small dividend. Accused, who pleaded not guilty to the six charges, was committed to the

Supreme Court for trial, and vat , , allowpd bail in his own α-ccoguieanco ol £10vl. On a i'urtlior charge kid under section i'A of tho Auctioneers Act of carrying on business as an auctioneer after this expiry, of his license, Blake entered a plea of guilty under extenuating circumstances;. Me. Jackson Baid that Blako had intended to renew his license, but could not afford to do so before the crash •en me. The Magistrate deferred sentence until after the sitting of the. Supreme Court.