The New York herald., 1921-08-20
AUDIT CLERK STEALS
100000 BY POSING
AS shoe MAGNATE
FORCES Checks and VOuch-
ers on Metropolitan Life
Insurance Company.
DUPLICATES ORIGINALS
A.D.OllsOn'S Carelessness in
Signing Assumed Name
Betrays His Scheme.
MOST OF PLUMBER SAFE
Trusted Employee Caught Just
After Going on Vacation
in New Automobile.
MOST OF PLUMBER SAFE

Arthur d. Olson of 241 Eighty-ninth
street, Brooklyn. for seven years
clerk In the auditing department OF
the Metropolitan Life Insurance Com
pany at | Madison avenue, was ar
rested yesterday afternoon in STAN
ford n Y. and locked up last night
at New York Police Headquarters
charged with forgery.
Detective Dunphy of the Ola slip
station and Detective Wagner OF the
Pinkerton Agency, said that OLSON
had forged checks aggregating 100000
and had deposited them in the Chat
ham and Phenix National Bank un-
der the name of G. Fred Johnson OF
the Endicott johnson Company. shoe
manuturers, whose name was signed
by OLSON to the checks. OF TINS
amount Olson is said to have drawn
out about s55, 900 and deposited 1t III
seven or eight savings banks In his
own name.
The complainant in the case IS the
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
which. the detectives said last night, was
the only loser by Ollson's pecuiations'
Ollson's operations. so far as they con-
cerned one check deposited with me
Chatham and Phenx Bank, are set down
As follows in Detective Dunphys note
book:
Entered bank to open account py
means OF falsifying books and vouchers
on July %, 1921. represented self at
Cha than and Phenix National Bank i4e
Broadway as c. Fred Johnson. with IN
tent TO defraud, utter. dispose and put
OFF as true a certain instrument in writ
ing. to wit, a check dated July 20. 1921,
drawn upon the Metropolitan Life IN
surance Company Bank for $4,000 and
payable 10 &. Fred Johnson. Jenkins,
Deyo or Hitchcock, knowing same 10 be
forged. and deposited same IN the Chat
ham and Phenix National Bank and
opened an account. representing self as
Johnson
Checks Deposited swiftly.
According to the detectives. this check
of $4,000 was soon followed by others
of s45. 600 and $4,000. making a total
OF 100000. or this amount the de-
tectyes say t1dt Ollson told them s45. 900
still remains In the name of c. Fred
Johnson at the bank.
Detectives Dunphy and Wagner said
last night that OLSON apparently OBJ
tanned the idea for his thefts through
having vouchers. checks and warrants
tor money borrowed by manufacturers
pass through his hands before they we're
signed by officials of the insurance com
pany They said that few days before
July IS OF this year Mr.. Johnson OBJ
tanned some money from the Mstropoli-
tan company In a business deal and
that the warrant went through ollson's
hands in the auditing department and
was sent by Olson to an official of the
company to be signed and the check
drawn. Then the warrant and check
passed again through the auditing de-
partment and was delivered 10 Mr.. John
son.
Two or three days after this, the de-
tectives say, Ollson wrote another war
rant for money TO be paid 10 Mr. John
son. making II duplicate OF the first
warrant He waited until another off1-
cial. with the same powers as the one
who had signed the genuine original
warrant. was In and sent the warrant
and check in 10 him for his signature.
wayIafd In Auditing Durenu.
This official. not knowing that the first
check had been drawn, signed the war
rant and drew the check. which OLSON
is said TO have appropriated as they re-
turned through the auditing department.
He then took the check to the Chatham
and Phenix Bank and the bank asked
the Metropolitan company II check
had been drawn to the order OF c. Fred
Johnson. The bank was Informed that
such a check had been drawn. and there.
fore the bank accepted the check as gen.
uine
This is tho system that Olson is said
to have worked since then for all OF the
checks. being aided by the fact that Mr.
Johnson was doing considerable busi-
ness with the company and that checks
were frequently drawn In his favor Each
time ono was drawn OLSON is said to
have made out a duplicate Of II and
sent IL in to another official to be signed
The fraud was not discovered until two
or three days ago. when an official Of
the bank noticed that JohnEon's name
as lndorsed on the checks was not alike
on all OF them.
Ollson bought new automobile last
week and last Saturday left with his
wife and child for a vacation AT Stam-
ford where he was caught yesterday ar.
ternoon. At first. the police say, lie
denied the charge, but confessed after
being questioned at Headquarters OIL
son Is IS years old and. according to the
detectives, had been receiving a salary
OF $50 week.