£200,000 FRAUDS.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXIV, Issue 9338, 6 January 1909, Page 6

£200,000 FRAUDS.

FORGERY CONFESSION BY A PHILANTHROPIST. All Chicago is in amazement: at the sudden transformation of Mr Peter Yan Ylissingen, philanthropist, real estate agent, and reputed millionaire, into a self-confessed thief and forger, Mr Ylissingen was sitting in his magnificent suite of offices when he was informed by a visitor that he was wanted by the Public Prosecutor. “Why am I wanted?” inquired the supposed millionaire. “Charges of forgery!” was the dramatic reply of the caller. “1 am afraid the charges are true,” said Mr Ylissingen, simply. Going to the Public Prosecutor, he confessed without more ado that in the course of the 18 years lot his successful business career he had forged mortgages to the extent of some £200,000. “How did yon effect the forgeries?” asked the Public Prosecutor. Mr Ylissingen answered : “I had a strong electric light under a glass cover on my desk, and was thus able to render documents transparent and trace all the signatures I wanted. But 1 always paid interest on the deeds and would have redeemed them in time. Now all the money will be lost,” He pleaded to be speedily sentenced, and as the charges were immediately sent to the grand jury, which returned a true bill, within two hours of the time he was disturbed at his offices the false millionaire was condemned on an indeterminable sentence of from one to 14 years’ hard labour. Panic seized the prisoner’s creditors, who stormed the offices, demanding their savings. A large force of police was necessary to qnell the disturbance. Mr Ylissingen’s career was meteoric. He immigrated from Holland as a boy. and became a messenger of a bank of which he afterwards came to be'vioe-president. Subsequently he resigned, andfstarted bis real estate business, rapidly becoming one .of the most prominent men in Chicago. He lived with his wife and fonr children in magnificent style and moved in the most exclusive society. Through the peculations reported, seven customers, all of them Dutch, lose £25,000 each, not to mention a host of poorer people, whose savings are swept away.