The San Francisco call., 1898-02-01
Bankers and. Money Lenders Not. Clever
 ]. Enough for Her. ..... 2.
German Women Of Means Are: :. Her Particular Prey, but. :. .. Men Are Not Spared. .. E. E
AN ATTORNEY AFTER HER
She Wi1l Again Be Arrested for s...i" Obtaining Money Under False. x: Y Pretenses.... .:.,:..:; s:..>

Mrs. Sophie Maas,: an adventures who has been for years engaged in playing upon the credulity of her fel- low beings and thereby keeping herself we'll supplied with funds, Will soon against e:in the clutches of the police and. this time Attorney J.: K. Ross will see to it that she will not escape pun. ishment if he can help it. F.: : . .... ..
 About eighteen months ago Mrs. Maas, while living at g Dale. place, was arrested on the complaint of E.. Cade- nesso on the charge of obtaining money by false pretenses.. It was. alleged that she. obtained s4oO from him " by falsely representing that she owned property that did not belong to# her. The case was heard by Judge Camp E bell, and Mrs. Maas by. her meek and loWly attitude in court so impressed. the Judge that when he asked Cade- nesso,.'''aAll you want is your money backG" and he replied in the affirma- tive the Judge retorted, this is not: a collection agency and dismissed the case. = .= :: -@ = Attorney Ruef, who represented Ca denesso. secured another warrant from Judge Low s court and Mrs. Maas was. again arrested. When the case. was heard before Judge Low the evidence was so convincing that he held Mrs. Maas| to. answer: before the Superior Court. She wrung her hands in pre- tended grief, and 1t so affected the Judge that he grufhy asked =Cadenesso,. "AlE syou#Want is your money, ism t 1t ?''. ??'. and -Cadenesso, having his experience of Judge Campbell to guide him, meek :ly replied. No; want her punfshed.,'>
 Ntea5 Cernr ', fOv an inoffensiYe woman and abruptly dismissed the scaSe.@ ...: = :z. :; : :: Now comes. Henry Martin, an. eIn-: ploye in the Hamburg lodging house. with a complaint that Mrs. Maas has swindled him out of s100 with the. as sistance of her friend, Mrs. Ferris. On March 4 last Mrs. Maas> got S200 out of Martin by false representations: She is always on the lookout for German men and woman who have by their industry managed to; save. some money : She learned that Martin had: $200 in the German Savings Bank: and March Blast she and Mrs. Ferris called upUn Martin. She talked to him in a friend .1y: way for some time and finally sug-- gested that he should lend her the s200 he had in the bank and she would pay him $50 interest at the end. of. the. month. She claimed that she#.was a woman of wealth and she was backed up In that assertion by her friend, Mrs. Ferris. :::. =. :
 Next day. they called again upon Martin and induced him to go out with them :: to Pierce and Steiner streets, where Mrs. Maas showed him several houses which she said belonged to her. Mrs. Ferris chimed: in and said that. Mrs. MaaS was worth over $50O00.: The: bait took, and Martin drew the" $20o out : of the bank and handed. 1t over to Mrs. ,1oc. piece of paper. Mrs. Mas did not@call with5tfe money and interest at the end of the month, and Martin began. to make inquiries. He found that: Mrs. Maas did not own any. property on: Pierce. or Steiner: streets, and was told: by people that she was a fraud He ascertained Mrs. Ferris address, and, by perseverance and threats, he. got back S100. Mrs. Maas then left the city for New York and only. returned a few days ago, and is living at 71S1a Bryant street. .: :. Martin had placed the case in the hands of Attorney Ross and he began to institute inquiries as to Mrs: Maas. The result was startling. .. =.
 q find,,' said Mr.. Ross yesterday, that this woman has been for years yictimizing bankers, money lenders, dentists, and all sorts and conditions
 
 prey is German women; of means, and she has swindled many of them. I can't give their names from memory, but one of them is Mrs. Metszga of Alameda, who is out $400. Lacey, the money lender, is out $500, and there are others too numerous to mention.
 'I can name two particular instances. About a year ago Mrs. MaaS got ac- ouainted with Carl van Brennan, ba- ker. He is one of the most simple and confiding men ever met. By various pretexts, in telling him that she owned property in Denver and in this city, md that she was to buy a drug store Tn Antioch for him she managed to get out of him altogether $4000. She also managed to get from friend of Van Brennan named Schmidt, who works in the same bakery, S35O.
 Ut is time this woman's swindling operations were stopped, ana to-mor-