The Sun.
London, England, 1864-01-19 00:00:00

Commercial Fraud at Sunderland.

A commercial fraud of a disgraceful. character has
been brought to light at Sunderland. Mr. Thomas
Key, of the firm of Riches, Kay, and Marshall,
merchants and chipbrokers, was a prominent mem-
ber of the Methodist body, and was held in high
respect in Sunderland. He died suddenly on New-
Year's-day, after returning from a " watch night
meeting" at a Methodist chapel ; and it was then
discovered that the deceased had been carrying on
a system of obtaining cash to an unknown amount
by means of fraudulent bills, in which the signa-
tures of persons dealing with the firm were used as
acceptances without their knowledge or consent.
His partners, who expected the firm was clearing
about £2,000 a year, have been well nigh ruined by
his deceit; and, instead of a comfortable balance of
£4,000 in the hands of the bankers they found but
£1,500, which may in all probability be condemned
on account of bills in the hands of the bank. The
way in which deceased efficted the fraud was this
—ship captains are in the habit of drawing ad-
vances from the merchants or brokers who freight
their vessels, in order to pay bills and port charges,
and of receiving various gratuities. As the firm of
Riches, Kay, and Marhall did a pretty extensive
chartering business, such advances and payments
were often made, and almost invariably by
the deceased. The person to whom ho paid
an account was sure to be entertained
with an interesting conversation on religious
or other topics, according to taste, the ingenious
merchant in the meantime folding and turning
about a piece of blue paper, with an apparently
careless air. On the paper were pencilled a few
words of receipt for the amount advanced, and
having a pen handed him at some stage of the pro-
ceedings, the unsuspecting captain readily " put his
name down," as requested. The deluded recipient
of the advance having taken his departure, the
wily merchant was then at liberty to unfold his
paper, which assumed the form of a bill stamp,
and the pencilled receipt being duly obliterated, the
paper could be filled up to any amount, the signa-
ture of the person who had received the advance
appearing across the paper in the form of
an acceptance. Such was the repute of the
firm that this sort of paper would be discounted to
any amount by the banks, and as fast as the bills
became due they could be easily replaced by nego-
tiable acceptances of the same character. It is not
known what amount of bills of this hind may be
running, for on the opening of the safe, after Mr.
Key's death, there were found no fewer than 150
blank bill stamps, bearing the names of various
parties who had signed them innocently in the way
we have already indicated. The stamps were princi-
pally of ls. and 2s. each, and they were no doubt in-
tended to be filled up and passed off as genuine
bills, so that deceased would have been able to
obtain almost any amount of money from the dis-
counters. There is another story, to the effect that
Mr. Kay got a well-known solicitor to make a will,
disposing of a large amount of property with much
form and pomposity, and on the strength of that
easily induced the solicitor to lend him £2,000 or
some such amount. Fortunately, however, the
legal gentlema❑ in question obtained back nearly
the whole of the amount. It is generally supposed
that the realisation of deceased's estate will cover
all claims against the firm that may arise through
i deceased's course of conduct.—Newcastle Chronicle.

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