£250 Fraud Charge

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 486, 16 October 1928, Page 13

£250 Fraud Charge

COMPANY MANAGER FOR TRIAL BROUGHT BACK FROM FIJI Having been arrested on the Aorangi at Suva and brought back to Auckland on the Niagara, Edward Saville Lyall Esdaile, faced a fraud charge involving £250. at the Police Court yesterday. Esdaile, a company manager, aged 26, was charged with obtaining £250 from Harold Alexander Cooper by falsely representing that he had procured the shares of his co-directors in the Art and Publicity Company of New Zealand, Limited, for that sum. Harold Cooper, medical practitioner, met Esdaile in July. He told the Court that with a third man, Chivers, local agent for Grey Marine engines, they had formed a partnership to importrthe engines and witness had agreed to finance the concern up to ,£1,750. It had been agreed that Esdaile should go to America to deal directly with the manufacturers. According to Esdaile liis - co-directors in the Art and Publicity Company wouls not allow him to go, so h» had bought them out for £ 250. Witness agreed to reimburse Esdaile and this was done in a few days. Accused had said that the income of the Art and Publicity Company had been £I,OOO, £750 of which belonged to him. “The day after Esdaile’s departure I found that he had bnly one co-director in the company and that he had not ’ been approached about the sale of his shares.” said Dr. Cooper. “Mr. Wilkins, the director mentioned, received no share of the £250 and indeed had only five shares of the company.” Witness said that he had procured a warrant .for Esdaile’s arrest and later received the following cable from him at Suva: “Deeply regret position. My continued domestic worries sometimes unbalance me. Foolish lie on my part regarding directors. Assure you never my wish to defraud, as evidenced by the fact that I handed to Gray all my assets. Surely you realise 1 would not deliberately defrauu you after all your goodness Also consider- all the work 1 have done for Gray and the serious set-back to our business resulting if you compel me to f return to Auckland. Please trust me now and allow me to proceed next boat from here to America. No expenses. In meantime stay proceedings until my return. Sick with worry. Confess all you have against me. Please forgive. Will reimburse you from Gray’s interests and will continue mission successfully if you are willing to withhold the charge temporarily. Please cable me.” Edgar Frank Chivers, the third member of the partnership, corroborated the greater part of the previous witnesses’s evidence. Mr. Chivers also received a cable from Esdaile at Suva, asking witness to help him. Witness had been acting as manager of the Art and Publicity Company since Esdaile’s departure, but had done no business. Martin Llewellyn Wilkins, was Esdaile/s co-director in the Art and Publicity Company. He had been asked to take live shares in the company, which he had not been required to pay for. He had taken no part in the management of the company. Witness had not been asked by Esdaile to sell his shares or transfer them to the Grey Motor Company. Robert Macintosh Grant, a barrister and solicitor, had been asked before the Art and Publicity Company was registered whether lie would become a director but had not done. The Art and Publicity Company was what was known as a “one man company.” “Esdaile owed me £lO 19s 6d when he left for America,” concluded witness. Mr. Keegan reserving his defence and entering a plea of not guilty, Esdaile was committed to the Supreme Court for trial. Bail was allowed in one surety of £2OO or two of £IOO each.