The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1911-01-12
FAMOUS SWINDLES
BY FREDERIC } HAskIN.

Each year the number OF people vic
timizcd by the professional swindler in
creases and no amount of warning or ad-
vice can overcome the credulity of the
unwary so long as the swindler is intro
duced with such plausible attractions.
The greatest swindle now receiving the
attention OF the department OF state In
Washington is the so-called Spanish
Swindler." This has been going on for
several years and is proving difficult to
suppress because of the numbers and the
nationalities OF the persons engaged In II.
The intended victim first receives letter
from man I'm prison In Barcelona,
charged with political offense IN Cuba.
The prisoner represents himself as being
at the point of death with but one friend.
the good prison priest, who will OCCASION
ally smuggle letter out OF the prison.
The prisoner is rich. He has fortune
amounting to more than $4,000 on deposit
In the United States but the certificate OF
deposit Is in a secret receptacle in his va
lise which has been taken in custody by
the court at Carthagenia. He has also
an only daughter who is his dying
thought There IS no one i'm Spain to whom
he can commit her
VIII the kind American accept the
guardianship OF the darling daughter ana
the custody of her fortune in return for
one fourth OF the latter? Usually the
claim is made that the daughters mother
was an American and distant relative of
the party applied to. If the trust Is ac-
ceptcd the good priest will go to America
and take the daughter, but there Is one
condition. The kind American or distant
relative requested to send money to lib
crate the valise and perhaps pay the
travelling, expenses OF the daughter a~d the
priest. The money is to be sent 10 the
priest whose address is given. A series OF
letters may follow The prisoner will
write pathetically that his strength Is fail
ing fast and beseeches the kind American
to be good to his darling daughter. Then
the priest writes in very bad English con-
corning the prisoners death and states
that the daughter is now under his care.
He may enclose a newspaper clipping an
houncing the death Of the famous Cuban
patriot, sometimes called Lafente, and re-
ferring to the hidden valise and the or
phan daughter
This swindle has been going on for some
10 years and it is increditable the amount
OF money that has been realized. Confed-
crates IN America furnish the swndlers
with names of Americans who may have
had relatives marrying Cubans. Only last
year A. Landberg of Boston, reported hav-
ing sent 5000 for the charges of the
court upon the valise and the voyages OF
the daughter and priest, who Of course
never was heard from after the money
was received. Despite the fact that the
postal authorities of the United States
have undertaken to prohibit the distribu-
tlon of any mail relating to It, the swindle
Is still going on by means of the tele-
graph and express companies. The Ameri-
can is told how to cable to certain adj
dress on a plea that letter would likely
be confiscated by the Spanish government.
For many years the securing OF un-
claimed estates from Europe has given
opportunity for swindlers to acquire
large sums of money. Although the de-
partment Of state frequently has taken
the matter up with the various countries
and the assurance has been given out
many times that there are absolutely no
estates in Europe awaiting claim by dis
tant relatives in America, every year
brings up new cases Of this kind The re-
cent desire of Americans to claim noble
ancestry makes 1t easier for the swindler
who has secured a good knowledge OF old
family names to acquire large sums OF
money from Americans who wish to be-
lieve that the European branch of their
family was in possession Of boundless
wealth.
1.-THE Old Dutch Estate" swindle is es-
peciallya popular. Attractive circulars are
| still being issued from time to time de-
scr.bing the Anneke-Janos estate, the
Cronkheit or Kronkeit estates, the Weber