The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1889-11-27
A MILLIOS DOLLARS INVOLVED,
Bogus Mortgages in the PrsdsrIsEsa
TranSAetiona In ChieAEo.


CHICAGO, Nov. 26,-It is now said that
the amount involved In the alleged
fraudulent transactions Of Fredsrieksen
& Co., in connection with which their
cashier, BIdgood, was arrested yesteF-
day, will reach 81, 100000,
The chargeis based on alleged crooked
transactions In giving mortgages on
lands 10 which the Freaericksens had
no title. These mortgages are said 10
have been pledged as security for loans.
FFederiCksen & 90, have been doing q
large business In western railroad lands,
selling for the most part small tracts OF
forty or aity acres on the ilstallmeut
plan, the purchasers usnally being im'
migrants or poor people who wished 70
invest their earnings In farms, After a
certain number OF payments have been
made, Fredericksen gave Q deed, mort,
gage on the land being taken for the un,
paid portion Of the purchase money,
These mortgages, It Ia alleged, were then
given % collateral for loans or sold out.
right through the West.
Amuuk ukusI7i, ,seA.NgNethuE -3t a.
Rice, r. A, Nunnemacher, cashier Of the
Merchants' Exchange Bank ol MilWau.
kee, and =, G, ComStoCk, a Milwaukee
lawyer, are said 10 have been large buy
ers. II is claimed that many Of these
mortgages are worthless.
When seen at the station Bidgood
stated that bis connection with the com,
pany was purely as cashier, aud that he
did not sec how he could be implicated
ip FrederiCksen's transactions, The
business, he said, amounted To $1,000
acres q year, but he could not say how
much OF this was In mortgages.
T. G. Cowie said that he represented
the interests OF mis- father.in.law, ex-
Governor Rice, Of Hartland, Wis, who,
he said, was loser tothe extent of$l00,-
900 or more by the alleged fraudulent
operations. "The charge We make" he
said, sis that Fredericksen, Bidgood,
and b. G. NJ. Fredericksen.were all con.
cerned In this conspiracy. They got up
fraudulent mortgages, wentout on the
street and gave men s. to sign them.
Then they went to capitalists with the
mortgages and raised money on
them. They gave mortgages on
land In Minnesota, Dakota aud
other parts OF the Northwest.
There are hundreds Of working peoplein
Chicago who Paid In theireafnings TO
the FrederickSens, thinking they were
buy lug land, and now find their deeds
worthless. Many of these mortgages
were placed in Milwaukee. Among the
purchasers are AIr. Kendrick, Mr.. Rice,
aud Rudolph NunnemaCher, the cashier
Of the Merchants Exchange Bank OF
Milwaukee. Stephen W. RawSOn, the
banker OF Chicago, had some Of them,
but he iS not hit for much. 1t is said
that much Of this paper was also sold in
Milwaukee"
Bidgood was arranged in police court
to-day aud bis Case was continued I'LL
Saturday 10 bonds Of $4,000. he de.
clares his entire innocence, and asserts
that be never had r ason 10 suppose that
business u FredeFicksen 4 %. was
other than striCtly legitimate,
DR.. John Arrive, QUE OF tue victims Of
the swindle arrived this afternoon,
"Why, that man Fredericksen, was the
uohL colu'nlunueu tGVuluiel efeI
II hold now $4,000 OF mortgages
sold me by Frederickson and every one
OF them bears a written guarantee
signed by Frederickson, that the
mortgages represent purchased land, in
which the amount Of mortgage
has been paid. OF the whole
$4,000 worth, | know Of
lees. Besides mySelf, as heeRi stated,
Cashier NunnmaCher, Of the Mer.
chants' Exchange Bank, Of Milwaukee,
Is one Of the heavy losers, and U. D.
Hendricks, q prominent real estate
broker Of Milwaukee, has lost every.
thing be had, aRd has been forced to
asbiQu,m