Los Angeles herald., 1891-09-06
VERY VERDANT.
A Man Tries to PersOnate
Rancher Green.
He Mortgages the Latter'S
Rancho and Goes to Jail.
How an Attempt Was Made to
Swindle o. A. StassfOrth.
The Arrest of John G. Hoy-A Peculiar
Story About His Alleged At
tempt to Mortgage An
other Mans Land.

John G. Hoy, miner, was arrested
by Deputy Constable f. 2. Cochrane
yesterday at 80 p. m. on warrant is
sued by Township Justice Stanton for
forging promissory note and mort
gage for $4,000. The complaining wit
ness was Morris M. Green, whose name
Hoy is said to have forged. The note
and mortgage were given to 0. A. Stass-
forth as security for q loan, and the
mortgage covered the east half OF the
northeast quarter of section "a, town
ship south, range IA west, a tract OF 80
acres, which belongs to Green.
A man named Ed L. Baker, who
knows Green well, is accused of intro
ducing Hoy to Stassforth as Green, and
Baker is now also wanted by the officers
as an accomplice to the crime.
Hoy was taken before Justice Stanton
yesterday afternoon and arraigned. His
bail was fixed at $2500, and in default
of this he was sent to Jail till September
IA, when he will be examined.
Mr.. Stassforth made the following
statement to HERALD reporter yester-
day, which gives the story of the alleged
swindle in all its details:
"a week or so ago Mr.. Edward l..
Baker, who lives at 101 South Flower
street, met me on the street and told
me he knew man who lived below
town who had eighty acres on which he
wanted to borrow $4,000. [ told him |
might loan him $75 an acre, and we az
ranged to go out, and the next day we
drove to the place of Morris M. Green
on Vermont avenue near the Santa Fe
crossing.
"Baker stopped at a field near an
artesian we'll and hailed man who was
working, whom he introduced to me as
M. M. Green. This man told me his
income was $22.50 year from each acre
of his ranch 1 asked him about the
neighborhood, but he seemed strangely
ignorant. Baker, when we returned,
explained that Green was an old
granger and did not know much.
"The next day | met Baker, and told
him would only loan him $4,000 on the
land, and he said he would see Green
and let me know. Meantime l looked
into the matter bit, and learned from
one of the Cinnamon tenants on the
place that he was only paying $13 an
acre per annum. In few days Baker
came around and said it was all right,
that Green had decided that he only
needed the $4,000, SO l told him to have
Green get the abstract brought up to
date and bring his wife in, so that she
could sign the mortgage, and they could
get the money. Baker demurred to the
proposition about bringing Mrs. Green
in, and said it was not necessary. The
next day, however, he came in, and
said it was all right; that there was no
wife, as Green had been a widower for
five years.
81 began to feel uneasy about the
affair, and as had heard that Gleen
had son working for Jacoby Brothers
| went to see him, and asked him if his
mother was alive. He described his
father to me, and l found that he was
not at all like the man introduced to me
as Green. l got right into buggy and
drove to Green's place, and commenced
questioning him. He wanted to know
why | was so curious, and l told him
the whole story. Well, ne got very in
dignant, and hitched up his horse and
came to town with me, as Baker and
bogus Green were to be at my Office
that afternoon. We waited for them,
but they did not come.
bogus Green came in with the mortgage
all drawn up and signed. / did not let
him know that suspected anything.
told HIM 1 always had mortgages
drawn up first and then made search
of the title, but he misunderstood me in
some way, and went off to the recorders
office and placed the mortgage on
record.
81 meanwhile met Green, the real
Green, and told him that the mortgage
had been filed, and went and looked
at it, and saw that the signature was a
fairly good imitation of the writing OF
the real Green; meanwhile the latter
went to the district attorneys Office and
had complaint issued, charging the
bogus Green with forgery, and he was
arrested here in my Office"
The HERALD reporter learned yester-
day that this form of swindling had
been successfully worked in this city of
late, seven times. but in each instance
the men who lost the money were so
ashamed OF the way in which they had
been fooled that they had said nothing
about it to the authorities.