A WHOLESALE FORGER. Extraordinary Series of Frauds In New South Wales.

Te Aroha News, Volume II, Issue 80, 13 December 1884, Page 5

A WHOLESALE FORGER. Extraordinary Series of Frauds In New South Wales.

Mr H. Levin, a well-known business man in Corowa, New South Wales, was recently discovered to have been guilty of a long series of most impudent frauds. When he found that the game was up he committed suicide. The Corowa " Free Pi ess "of Oct. 17 gives the following particulars of the affair : — It seems like a fine stroke of irony that most of the paper discounted locally bore the signatures of people who had, as they thought, certified to the unblemished character of Mr H. Levin, and his fitness to be trusted as agent for certain companies. Insurance agencies were especially affected by him. To most of his victims he seems to have paid, " I am applying for an agency for such and such a company, and they surround the appointment with absurd conditions. They require a certificate as to my character. Would you mind signing your name at the foot of this printed sheet, and I will fill in the answers to the questions, and save you any further bother ? Going to have a whiskey ?" The victim unsuspectingly signed ; the upper portion of the sheet was then torn or cut off, and the remainder of the paper over the signature covered in Levin's own handwriting in the form of a promissory note, and for just the amount which ho wanted, or just as fancy struck him. Here is a list of the amounts of some of the bills— the names of the victims being suppressed for obvious reasons : —

This does not represent all or nearly all. The bills bo manufactured were taken to Mr George Beeby, a well-known financier, and by him discounted and handed over to the Bank of Australasia for transmission to the Stamp Office, Sydney, to be embossed with the stamp according to the schedule. It is necessary here to state that for the last six months Mr Beeby has dealt largely in discounting bills for Levin, and holds a great many genuine trade bills besides the " dummies." There were other ways in which the innocent were victimised. We have heard of several cases, but select two as illustrations :— A customer whom we will call "Farmer gave Levin a promissory note for £33 0s 7d for goods. The bill was discounted by Mr Beeby. During the currency of the note, "Farmer" made further purchases to the amount of £61 12s Id, the amount for which was furnished, with ft request for settlement, by promissory note. ifr " Farmer " came into Corowa, and was told that in order to make one transaction for the matter, the amount of the first bill (£33 Us 7d) would be added to the store account, £61 12s Id, making t95 Is Bd, and that one promissory noto would be made out of the whole amount, and the first note returned. This was done, but Mr "Farmer" did not receive his first note, and the consequence is that the second note was also discounted. Mi Beeby holds both, and Mr "Farmer" is liable for £128 11s 3d, instead of £95 Is Bd, the proper amount of his indebtedness. Another case, in which we will speak of the drawer as Mr"McCoach." That person gave a promissory note for £125 16s 6d, which represented the price of a cask of whiskey, and two bills which were to be retired by Levin— one for £36 13s 6d, and another for £56 3s. Of course, neither of the bills was retired, and " McCoach " is now liable to the discounter for £216 16s, instead of £125 16s 6d. Another case, and still another case, and then we will have done with illustrations, having shown sufficient to make our readers acquainted with the enormity of the frauds. Mr " Merino" gave a bill for £161 15s 2d. In a few days he was told that there was a mistake in the account rendered, which should have been £166 3s 6d, and that if he gave a bill for the latter amount the first bill would be procured and sent out to him by post. He did so, and is now liable for both— a total of £327 18s Bd, instead of £166 3s 6d. Mr "Lyons" signed in the office a promissory note for £16 14s sd, and as he handed it over the signature was purposely "smudged." He was told that, as he was in a hurry, if he signed another blank form the amount would be properly filled in. He signed, and that bill was made as for £48 6s 6d, and both promissory notes— the " smudged " and unsmudged— discounted, making Mr " Lyons " liable for £65 Os lid, instead of £16 14s sd. On last Saturday the manager of the Bank of Australasia discovered a promissory note, purporting to be drawn by a trader in the Corowa for £130 Is 6d. There rcuist have been previous cause for suspicion -in fact, we know that there was, as on the preceding evening Mr Frewin, the firm's solicitor, and the bank manager made a discovery which revealed at least one fraud. This bill for £130 Is 6d was selected as a test, and Mr Roxburgh, of the Bank of Australasia, interviewed Mr Levin and requested him, with Mr Frewin, to attend at the Bank at their earliest opportunity. Mr Levin was then questioned as to the firm's transactions in Rutherglen, and gave evasive answers. This not being considered satisfactory by Messrs Roxburgh and Frewin, it was decided to interview the drawer, with the result that it was found to be a fraud, During the absence of Messrs Roxburgh and Frewin, the wretohed man disappeared, and half an hour afterwards the body was lying in the mud at the bottom of the Murray. Three of his best friends have been " let in" in the following manner :— He had % number of policies in force oa his own

life, on which it now appears tbat he raised money. Presenting a policy, which he represented as having been in existence for eight or nine years, to these friends, Levin asked their Bigratures to a bond guaranteeing the repayment of a loan of £500, alleging that he only required it for six months, and that the policy had a surrender value of more than the amount. It has transpired that it was an altogether new policy, not more than a few weeks old, with absolutely no surrender value, and the friends have received notice to pay the £500 before Dec. 30.

£ s. d. 77 16 0 39 18 0 93 2 6 67 18 0 70 5 6 130 1 6 59 6 G 157 9 2 63 8 3 118 2 10 83 12 0 538 18 6 300 0 0 & s. a. 200 0 0 65 8 0 86 0 3 77 19 0 126 13 3 53 16 0 57 7 11 43 1 9 56 16 6 93 16 6 60 9 3 76 2 0 65 5 0 82 10 0