FRAUD CHARGES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24227, 20 February 1940, Page 5

FRAUD CHARGES

ALLEGED CONSPIRACY ACCUSED COMMITTED FOR TRIAL SUBSTANTIAL BAIL FIXED FURTHER POLICE EVIDENCE (Per United Press Association) WELLINGTON. Feb. 19. Harvey Maitland Chrystall. engineer, aged 52, Nelson, and Gordon Percy Aston, 42 Webb street, Christchurch, were to-day committed to the Supreme Court for trial. They are charged that, on or about October 1. 1937, and on divers dates between October 1, 1937, and July 3, 1939, at Wellington and other places in the Dominion, they conspired each with the other by deceit to defraud Hartley Roy Sellers of sums of money totalline about £6765 Is 9d. At the conclusion of the evidence to-day the magistrate (Mr J. H. Luxford) held that a prima facie case had been made out. Both accused pleaded not guilty. Bail was fixed at £IOOO with a surety of a like amount, or two sureties of £SOO each. Detective Sergeant W. McLennan prosecuted,, and associated with him was Detective Sergeant W. R. Murray. Mr C. E. Purchase, Christchurch, appeared for Aston, and Chrystall was represented by Mr W. E. Leicester, with him Mr R. T. Peacock. £500,000 from Admiralty Continuing his evidence to-day. lan Bums Cromb, of Christchurch, managing director of Cash Radio (Westland) and Cash . Radio (Southland) said that on occasions Aston came to his office unshaven and tired in the mornings, and said he had been talking to the Admiralty by means of his earth telephone He also said he used the telephone to communicate with Sydney. and that he had offered it to the Racing Conference, which turned down the offer. Witness said that Aston frequently referred to a man named Levine, who, he said, had been lent to him bv an American group to assist .with his various patents. Aston also said the American interests had invested capital in the invention. Levine according to Aston, was receiving £SOOO yearly, plus expenses, from the American group, and experiments to date had cost £85,000. which had been supplied by Levine’s company. Aston told witness that a man named Wright had died in Australia and left him £200,000, which was invested in several companies. Aston said, on March, 31, 1939, that he was to receive £500,000 from the Admiralty. Witness referred to a visit he paid to Nelson, and the hut there. He saw nothing at the hut of a laboratory or any electrical or mechanical device. While at Nelson with Aston, witness went out on a launch, but did not see any experiments carried out. Experiments Cost £85,000 Dealing with the visit to Christchurch by Sellers and a conversation between him and Chrystall, witness said he gathered that money had been paid over and that both men were very pleased. Sellers said it would be nice to walk about Wellington and feel he did not owe any debt. Chrystall discussed buying a section of land to present to Christ’s College. Aston said the British Admiralty had sent him to Singapore to meet the . chiefs there., and discuss his invention. Witness said Aston stated that he and his syndicate were to pay for the experiments. which . had cost £85,000. Aston Had, also said the., Admiralty would pot allow torpedoes' to be fired at any of their ships, but for the purpose of experiment he had an American boat he kept in Sydney. Detective Sergeant McLennan: Did Aston produce any proof that he had been to Singapore? Witness: He showed one dr two tickets that he, was supposed to have got in the East.' Witness added that Aston promised to show him a film of fne experiment, but so far witness had not seen it. Aston went to Sydney in May. 1939. saying he was going over in connection with the ‘‘quad” plant, and returned in June. He referred to the Admiralty’s stipulation that the mortgage on the hut must be cleared, and said that Chrystall was to take documents over to Sydney and then proceed to England to pick up £27,000, which was to pay out Batt. Palliser. and Sellers. Racing Conference Money On one occasion, just before Aston left for Australia, he had two £SO notes in his possession. Before he left Christchurch 1o come to Wellington for the trip Aston was hard up. and obtained some money from Cash Radio. He: told witness that Chrystall had seen the Racing Conference about a sum of £llOO that had been overdrawn, and that the money had been paid to him (Aston), and probably would be returned inside 10 days. On June 10 Aston told witness that Sellers had disappeared. Aston seemed very worried. Witness continued that Aston; in conversation with him, frequently referred to bis alleged invention.- He told witness the Awatea had been docked and his plates had been fitted, and that immediately war was declared the Awatea would be commandeered by the Government.

Witness said that at no time had he had any financial interest in the alleged invention, and he had never had any particular dealings with Chrystall. Detective Sergeant McLennan: Did Aston make any reference to papers destroyed at Sellers’s office? Witness: He said Chrystall had written a lot of stuff that would get him hanged if it came out, and that he had visited Sellers’s office and destroyed those papers. Admiralty Disclaimer Eggard John McLellan. assistant marine superintendent for the Union Steam Ship Company, said that at no time were any plates or any device of any nature whatever fitted to the Awatea when in Cockatoo dock, or any other dock. Paymaster-commander Cooper R.N.. secretary of the New Zealand Navy Board, said he did not know either of the accused, nor did he know anything of an anti-submarine device such as had been mentioned in the evidence Witness added that, as the result of representations made to him by private citizens, he had made inquiries of the Navy Office, Melbourne, and the Admiralty, London, regarding the alleged invention The reply from Melbourne was that nothing was known of a “ Gordon Ashton ” (as he understood the name to be), and from the Admiralty the reply was that nothing was known of any invention by a “Gordon Ashton,” nor of any communication with the Admiralty from the source claimed. The Admiralty s letter further stated that none of ms Majesty’s ships had been fitted with the alleged anti-torpedo device. To Mr Purchase: Witness said _ne assumed that, had any information been available regarding one named Aston, he would have been advised. Alleged Statement by Chrystall Detective-sergeant Murray gave evidence of an interview with Chrystall at Nelson. He also produced a statement signed by Chrystall, detailing, his connection with Aston and Sellers. The statement said that Chrystall and Aston were associated throughout and he (Chrystall) accepted full responsibility in getting money for Aston’s patent. Experiments were actually carried out at Tahaunanui as stated. Experiments with great danger to Aston and himself were carried out on the patent. In the signing of the agreement with Batt for the guarantee of Sellers’s account for £3OOO, Chrystall said he and Sellers were taken completely by surprise by Batt’s insistence that the premium should be £6OOO instead of £3OOO. Reference was made in the statement to cheque handed to Chrystall by Sellers for £l5O and drawn on the Racing Conference’s No. 2 account. Chrystall stated that Sellers assured him it was all right, and subsequently told him that he had seen his chairman. Accordingly, when Sellers wrote out another cheque on the same account for £750, both Chrystall and Aston were completely disarmed. The fact that two further cheques for £l5O and £BO respectively, both drawn by Sellers on the same account, corresponded with, remittances by Sellers to Aston of similar amounts was a matter about which he (Chrystall) knew nothing. Referring to his meeting with the Racing Conference’s Executive Committee. Chrystall stated, said witness, that he frankly told the committee that he accepted full responsibility for what had occurred, but he did that as muchto help Sellers as anything else. Chrystill also stated that while in Sydney in June, 1939, he had completed arrangements so that Aston would have £llsO available in New Zealand to reimburse the Racing Conference, subject to Sellers agreeing to certain conditions. All the moneys he had received from and through Sellers, continued Chrystall, were used in connection with the business. The statement continued: "I want to make it clear that from my own personal knowledge and experience as an engineer the whole business is bona fide and all matters I represented to Sellers. Batt and others in obtaining finance for the business have been genuine.” Interview with Aston Detective Sergeant Murray also produced notes on an interview -with Aston at Christchurch last December. Witness said that Aston was questioned as to the alleged invention and said he had no money transactions with Sellers. He had added that a month before Sellers “went for his swim” he (Aston) had received „ a clearance, showing that there was no money owing between him and Sellers. In a subsequent interview Aston had told witness that in all money transactions with Sellers and Chrystall, he had simply acted as Chrystall’s agent with any money he had received. Aston had denied having said that the Awatea had been fitted with anti-torpedo plates at Sydney, and. answering other questions, had replied that he was not prepared to discuss his financial interests in Australia or elsewhere. He could not understand Sellers’s disappearance because everything could have been fixed up within 24 hours. Witness added that when Aston was asked whether he did claim to have some contract or arrangement with the British Admiralty, he shook his head and said: “ I can’t tell you that.” Money traced from Sellers to Aston was, Aston said, in connection with ordinary business, and there was no fraud in anything he had done, Detective Serggant James McClugg, of Christchurch, said that on July 10, 1939, he had a conversation with Aston in connection with another matter not before the court. Aston said that there were no financial difficulties between himself and Sellers, but there were considerable financial difficulties between Sellers and Chrystall, and that the amount involved was about £7OOO. He said he had no interest in any financial matters with Chrystall and that Sellers had told him that he was having financial difficulties and was

trying to arrange an overdraft at a bank. Witness corroborated the evidence given by Detective Sergeant Murray. Request by Counsel This concluded the case .for the police. Mr Leicester intimated that Chrystall had nothing further to say to the court at the present stage. Counsel suggested that the court might formally overrule any objections he had made as to the admissibility of evidence, his reasons being that —(1) the evidence had been published and, so far as Chrystall was concerned, counsel had no complaint regarding the manner in which the evidence had been published or the fairness of the prosecution, and that (2) it seemed unprofitable to embark on a discussion of the evidence for the purpose, of pressing the objection. Therefore it did not follow that, if the objections were allowed at the present stage, the trial judge would necessarily take the same view or that there would be any substantial gain in pressing the objections. No harm had been done to Chrystall by the publication of the evidence. ■

Mr Purchase said he wished to associate himself with Mr Leicester’s remarks. and so far as Aston was concerned was content to leave the matter in the hands of the court. The only matters to which he felt he had .substantial objection, said counsel, were those referring to the gold-making episode in 1928 and to Aston’s habit of tearing up bank notes.' The first reference was to something said to have taken place many years before anything that could have possibly affected the present case. As to the second objection, it had not been shown that the habit was outside Aston’s norma: personal habits for a period of years •It might be foolish, blit it'had no relation to the present charge. . The magistrate, ruling that there was a prima facie case against the two accused, said it was not necessary for him to go jnto the question of objections to evidence. He would formally over-rule all objections and commit the accused for trial at the Supreme Court. ■ ' ■