On farther inquiries it was found there was no such firm as John Howard and Co. at Droylesden, but that Howard and Russell had taken a house there which was not furnished, and where they went occasionally to receive letters addressed to Howard and Co., Droylesden. Owen was acquitted; Howard was found guilty of conspiracy with intent to defraud.
A number of cases occur where swindlers attempt to cheat different societies in various ways. Two men were tried at the police court a few days ago for unlawfully attempting to cheat and defraud a loan society to obtain 5l. The prisoners formed part of a gang of swindlers, who operated in this way:—Some of them took a house for the purpose of giving references to others, who applied to loan societies for an advance of money, and produced false receipts for rent and taxes. They had carried on this system for years, and many of them had been convicted. Some of the gang formerly had an office in Holborn, where they defrauded young men in search of situations by getting them to leave a sum of money as security. They were tried and convicted on this charge.
There is another heartless system of base swindling perpetrated by a class of cheats, who pretend to assist parties in getting situations, and hold out flaming inducements through advertisements in the newspapers to working men, servants, clerks, teachers, clergymen, and others; and contrive to get a large income by duping the public.
A swindler contrived to obtain sums of 5s. each in postage stamps, or post-office orders, from a large number of people, under pretence of obtaining situations for them as farm bailiffs. An advertisement was inserted in the newspaper, and in reply to the several applicants, a letter was returned, stating that although the applicant was among the leading competitors another party had secured the place. At the same time another attempt was made to inveigle the dupe, under the pretence of paying another fee of 5s., with the hope of obtaining a similar situation in prospect. The swindler intimated that the only interest he had in the matter was the agent’s fee, charged alike to the employer and the employed, and generally paid in advance. He desired that letters addressed to him should be directed to 42, Sydney Street, Chorlton-upon-Medlock. He had an empty house there, taken for the purpose, with the convenience of a letter-box in the door into which the postman dropped letters twice a day. A woman came immediately after each post and took them away.
On arresting the woman, the officers found in her basket 87 letters, 44 of them containing 5s. in postage stamps, or a post-office order payable to the swindler himself. Nearly all the others were letters from persons at a distance from a post office, who were unable to remit the 5s., but promised to send the money when they got an opportunity.
On a subsequent day, 120 letters were taken out of the letter-box, most of them containing a remittance. This system had been in operation for a month. One day 190 letters were delivered by one post. It was estimated that no fewer than 3000 letters had come in during the month, most of them enclosing 5s.; and it is supposed the swindler had received about 700l., a handsome return for the price of a few advertisements in newspapers, a few lithographed circulars, a few postage-stamps, and a quarter of a year’s rent of an empty house.
Another case of a similar kind, occurred at the Maidstone assizes. Henry Moreton, aged 43, a tall gentlemanly man, and a young woman aged 19 years, were indicted for conspiring to obtain goods and money by false pretences. The name given by the male prisoner was known to be an assumed one. It was stated that he was well connected and formerly in a good position in society.
At the trial, a witness deposed that an advertisement had appeared in a Cornish newspaper, addressed to Cornish miners, stating they could be sent out to Australia by an English gold-mining company, and would be paid 20l. of wages per month, to commence on their arrival at the mines. The advertisement also stated that if 1s. or twelve postage stamps were sent to Mr. Henry Moreton, Chatham, a copy of the stamped agreement and full particulars as to the company, would be given.
The prisoner was arrested, and 41 letters found in his possession, addressed to “Mr. H. Moreton, Chatham:” 25 of the letters contained twelve postage stamps each and some of them had 1s. inside. It was ascertained the female cohabited with him. It appeared that he had pawned 482 stamps on the 14th February, for 1l. 15s., 289 on the 21st, for 1l., and 744 on another day.
Eighty-two letters came in one day chiefly from Ireland and Cornwall.