A TIMBER FRAUD.

Franklin Times, Volume 9, Issue 613, 4 March 1921, Page 5

A TIMBER FRAUD.

AND A PUKEKOHE ECHO. A GET RICH QUICK SCHEME. Yesterday at the sitting of the S.M. Court at Pukekohe, before Mr R. M. Watson, S.M., H. Burrows, of Pukekohe, a farmer, sued an Auckland firm, M’essrs Jensen, Whiteman and Crichton, for £2OO and was given judgment for that amount. Mr. Hopkins, who appeared for plaintiff, said the whole scheme was a gigantic fraud and was merely a clever method of getting money by trickery. He produced evidence to show that defendants advertised that they had timber to sell. Plaintiff Burrows got inth. communication with them and vistted their office in Auckland. He ordered timber and paid £IOO cash deposit and defendants signed an agreement to deliver the timber immediately. This was in August, 1920, and since then Burrows had neither received any timber nor his money back. ,M'i Hopkins went on to point out that at a recent meeting of creditors of Jansen, claims totalling £5600 were put in. All this money represents deposits on orders for timber which were never fulfilled. Jansen is said to be an undischarged bankrupt. Such is an exposure of a wily scheme, and Franklin residents should inquire very carefully into the bona fidds of any business of a similar nature which they may be tempted to have dealings with.