The Russellville Democrat., 1888-10-11
A Blo swINolG
"W. n. fngham q Co.." . New York Brok.
erake Concern. After Gathering Coma
Portable Amount OF BoodIe 0nictly De-
parts for other Fields I'm which to Enjoy


1w. n. fngham d Co.," . New York Brok.
Portable Amount OF Doodle Qnictly De-
parts for other Fields in which to Enjoy
IT,
NEW York, Oct. G. One of the biggest
swindling schemes that have been worked
In this city for many years has been
brought to light by the disappearance Of
VIM. H. Iugham and the closing OF the
brokerage firm &c H. Ingham &
Co /" ar 30. 3S Broadway. AS yet
40 accurate estimate OF the swindlers'
profits can be made, and very possibly
the extent of the fraud will never be
known. But from present indications,
the losses of the victims of the specu-
lative mania will run we'll up into the
thousands, ana may aggregate more than
one hundred thousand dollars. The man
who has successfully played upon the
gullible, calls himself VIM. H. Ingham,
though HIS real name would probably
not sound like that. According 10
all accounts, he made his appearance in
the city the latter part Of April, 1887, and
opened the office OF w. Fl. Ingham & Co
at No. 40 Broadway. His cntry on the
scene was soon followed ~ the appear
ance of advertisements in sundry promi-
mont papers calling attention to the im-
mense profits to be gained by investing
In w. II. Ingham & Co.'s speculative
syndicate The Syndicate" was de {.
scribed as mutual pool, which was
to operate in stocks, bonds and grain.
under the direction of VIM. II. Ingham
& Co. At the end OF the first month q
printed statement was forwarded to all
stockholders, or members" as they were
termed. showing that the profits for the
month of May, 1887, were fifty-two pei
cent. The statement issued by the firm,
taking them for what they are worth, &C
to show that the ''proftsv for the several
months from June down were:
July, forty-three per cent; August,
twenty four per cent; September.
sixty-seven per cent; October. forty.
six per cent; November, fifty
six per cent; December. forty-two
per cent; January, 1883, twenty mine per
cent; February, thirty per cent; March,
eighteen and one-half per cent; April,
twenty-five per cent May, twenty lone
per cent; June, twenty-six per cent !;
July, twenty-five per cent. August fif-
teen per cent September, about twenty
five per cent. OF course these 'profits"
were all purely imaginary, and such
dividends as were paid were paid out OF
the money invested by the dupes. How.
many Of the nominal dividends actually
were paid can not be ascertained, but
since December, at least, the dividends
indicated have actually been paid
While Ingham's business was booming
along. and letters, kilograms and visit
ors daily pouring in, he was making
prepar ations to close up shop. On last
Saturday he mailed q card to his victims,
reviewing the career of the syndicate and
announcing that in consequence OF the
member s. solicitation he had met with
heavy losses, which had forced him to
suspend with the loss of the entire syn
dicate membership capital, and all its
business aud Offices are closed"
The card goes on to significantly remark
that 1--WE only hold your names" and
concludes in this way: "As soon as we
can get matters arranged and our ac-
counts Strengthened, with full details and
figures Of the losses and trades, and open
Offices again, we will notify you. BY the
word Co. after the name w. H. Ingham,
is infant each and every syndicate
member who constitute the company OF
the firm"
According to stories Of the other occu-
pants of the building at No. 3S Broadway,
Ingham was last seen at his Office Satur-
day. He had Yale lock put on the outer
door when he removed to his new Office,
and as he took the key with him, no one
can now get into the room. A glimpse
through the letter slit however, shows 0
big accumulation of mail lying on the
floor where IL has fallen through the slit.
Scores of undelivered kilograms for
Ingham are also lying at the adjacent
telegraph Office. Ingham would
never allow the janitress or
any one else to see both his rooms at
once, and apparently removed important
books and papers to the rear room, and
locked the door when the woman cleaned
the front office. His residence Is given In
the directory as No. 3S Bro adway, and
there is no clew to either his actual resi-
dence or himself. He is not a member OF
either Of the New York stock exchanges,
the Consolidated Exchange OF the Produce
Exchange, but had intrusted an aggre-
gate of about Ave hundred dollars worth
Of mining stock to the Open Stock and
Grain Board OF New York (limited), al
No. 3S New street. to sell for him.
All his checks were drawn on either
the Seaboard National Bank or the
United States National Bank. They we're
always careful to look up his account be-
fore cashing his checks, but he never
overdrew on them, and apparently paid
for hall services, etc, in cash.
Judging from the bank officers state
ments Ingham has altogether withdrawn
his deposits, or has but small balance
on hand. There are some reasons for
thinking that he came to New York from
Chicago.