Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-02-22
ALLEGED SW|NDLER
RECEIVES THOUSANDS
IN RENTING" CAME
About 80 Atlanta Citizens
Make First Payment on
House-0fficers Search
ing for "DeaIer"

| A smooth confidence man who
called himself c. A. Ritter and posed
as real estate agent, has intro.
duced at least fifty Atlantians to the
latest variation of the time-honored
"bunco game" by renting them g
house of which he was neither the
owner nor the renting agent. post
office inspectors said Saturday. Aft.
er operating here for two months
the inspectors said Ritter left fol-
unknown parts several days ago with
several thousand. dollars in rent
money.
A federal warrant charging Ritter
with using the mails to defraud was
issued Saturday, and a country wide
search for the man is now under
way. Complaints of Ritter's fraud
ulent operations were not received
by the inspectors in time for them
to nab him before he quit Atlanta,
they said.
Other confidence schemes were
worked in Atlanta by Ritter during
his stay which netted him large
senting himself as the agent of a
defrauded a number Of men by SELL
ing them bogus oil stock. s
The United States mails were used
extensively by Ritter in furtherance
spectors. He also advertised daily
in the want" columns of the news
papers, they stated. r
Advanced Rents
The house which was advertised
for rent was located in a very de-
srable residence section. After get
ting in touch with his prospective
victims, appointments were made to
show them the house, and a deposit
of the first months rent was re-
quired in each instance, inspectors
asserted.
In order that his scheme might
be worked successfully, inspectors
said, Ritter selected home that was
for sale and made arrangements with
the owner to show it to persons
whom he stated were interested with
him in a proposition to purchase. In
answered his advertisements to the
house and thus gave the entire trans
action an air of sincerity and fair
dealing.
According to the inspectors Rift
ter did not maintain an office He
is said to have. received all replies
to his advertisements at general de-
livery, and then called his CORE
spondentss on the telephone and ar
ranged to show them the house.
The inspectors are of the opinion
that there are many victims of Ritz
ter's scheme who have not yet adj
Names and addresses of these VIC
Tins were being sought Saturday
by inspectors.
The postal agents described Rit-
ter as a well-proportioned man of
approximately $50 pounds, around
fifty-four years of age, clean shaven
and solidly built.
Convincing Talker
He was fast and convincing
talker, and dressed neatly, they said.
While in Atlanta he was said by the
inspectors to have been accompanied
by young woman, with whom he
registered at a downtown hotel as
man and wife. No description of
this woman is available. Inspectors
believe she assisted Ritter IN swim
ding a number of men in the fake
oil stock scheme. *
In addition to selling stock in
this concern, it was stated, Ritter
sought applications from young men
for employment with the company.
had them furnish their photographs,
required them to pay registration
fee and a portion of what he called
transportation charges"