The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1897-07-20
|KAPUS' CAPER
His Peculiar Dealing in
Steamship Claims
MANY VICTIMS ON TOAST
FORTY THOUSAND DOLLARS IN
VESTED IN AIR
MANY VICTIMS ON TOAST
Many Well Known Citizens Swallow
the Succulent Bait-Kapus Is
Unconcerned

One of the most peculiar cases of al
legged forgery and fraud has just been
brought to light, in which an elaborate
system ofswindling has apparently been
carried on for several years in a manner
that could only be rendered. possible by
a fortuitous combination of luck and
shrewdness on the part of the perpe-
traitor and singular disregard of BUSH
ness principles on the part Of the vic
Tins.
Those who have suffered have been
losses from the public, some of them in
the expectation of even yet recovering
some portion of what they have lost, and
others going so far as to say that they
are willing to pocket their loss if they
can only prevent their unfortunate share
in the matter being known.
BIG MONEY OFFERED
1t is the old story of the temptation
temporary investment; a few hundreds
or few thousands to be put in for few
days or weeks, and 20 per cent profit to be
made out of the necessities of a person
who is supposedly forced, to make a
sacrifice. And this singular fact is again
demonstrated that, in spite of years of
business experience and an apparently
cautious temperament, the people who
will snap up the bait of high interest, if
they can do so secretly, are the very men
from whom different things would be
expected.
$4,000 IN THE SOUP
1t is stated that a system has been
worked in this city for come time by
which alleged approved claims for losses
of freight against the Pacific Coast
Steamship company have been sold at
discount by an intermediary, the parties
having been paid their money out of the
proceeds of new forged claims with
forged approvals of the steamship COM
pany. And thus, by chain of kite
flying, each time with bigger kite the
game has been kept going until at last
the amounts have grown so large that
the inventor of the ingenious skin game
is fiat on his financial back and the peo-
pie who have trusted him, that is, the
last corners into the game, appear to be
out and injured to the tune of $4,000 or
$40, 900.
If these allegations are true, John W.
Kapus is in a difficult position, and if
they are not true he has acquired repu-
tation for cold -blooded shrewdness,
smoothness and mendacity which is un-
deserved.
He is young man, apparently about
% years of age, well connected and is a
nephew of G. T. Stamm, president of the
Ontario State bank. His business ex-
perence appears to have been largely
gained in the local office of the Pacific
Coast Steamship company, where he
was at wo~ for five years, and left
March 18th last at the solicitation of his
chief w. Paris, who evidently thougA.
that his outside business required all
his time.
Kapue appears to have been the
broker, or intermediary, through whom
sundry claims for freight loss against
the steamship company were negotiated,
and the existence of which gave the
steamship company a great deal of an
noyance for the reason that, although
they were aware of the traffic being car
ried on, none of the claims were pre-
scented to them for payment, andIneither
they nor their agents could obtain a
sight of one.
The game appears to have been worked
on the confidence plan.
KAPUS' SCHEME
AS one of the victims said, Kapus
would come to man, and, representing
that he had inside information from
party al headquarters as to what claims
for loss of freight were allowed by the
steamship company and the date and
amount of such allowances, and that he
had information of the allowing of the
claim before the news was sent to the
claimant, would represent that he could
buy the demand, at good discount he
to be allowed share of the profit for his
trouble. Receiving assent to this propo-
sition and the check for the desired
amount, he would afterwards turn over
to the buyer a claim apparently ap-
proved by the steamship company in
San Francisco and, receipted by the
claimant" with the information that it
would be paid in a certain number of
days
The next move was to extend the time
of payment by promises and excuses,
and above all to impress upon the buyer
that by no means must he make any
inquiries of the steamship company, as
it would cost his friend the loss of his
position if it should get out that these
deals were being made. How many of
these operations were successfully car
ried out it is not known, but the trouble
that Mr.. Kapus now labors under is how
to satisfy, among others, S. Nordlinger
the Spring-street jeweler, who, with two
other prominent men, a doctor and
judge. advanced $4,000 on an alleged ap-
proved claim for $4,000, which was to be
paid in few days.
MR.. NORDLINGER A VICTIM
The exposure of this case came un-
expectedly. as Mr. Nordlinger, becoming
tired of unfulfilled promises, sent his
documents to San Francisco, where they
were presented for payment al the office
of the steamship company and at once
impounded as fraudulent, this being the
first case where the officials had had
chance to get a sight of the documents
Another case is that of DR.. c. T. Pep
per- who is also president of the Los
Angeles Mining and Stock exchange.
The genial doctor appears to have been
worked with great success, and the way
in which his good nature has been i'm
posed upon indicates that gratitude is
not among the virtues practiced bv Mr.