White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1928-06-08
CREDIT BODY PUTS
BRAKE ON CROOKS
20s Convicted of Business
Frauds in Year.

New Transformation of POS COM
mercial criminals throughout the
United States and indictments against
419 persons with business fraud were
secured by the National Association
Of Credit Men In the last II months,
according to the annual report of
Samuel Ardron, Jr., comptroller of
the association, for the fiscal year.
The report says that since the ma
tional credit protection fund Of ST.
100000 was raised by the association
three years ago, 444 commercial
criminals have been convicted on the
strength of evidence secured by the
credit organization, and indictments
have been returned against LAP per-
sons, of whom $50 are awaiting trial.
1t says further that during the last
~ months $40 requests for investiga-
tons of ankruptcy were received by
the association from business houses
and that In the preceding yearly
period the number of requests was
7S9.
STIIUSS OUoW OcCTcdSo.
"The decrease In the number of
cases investigated is significant for
two reasons" the report says. "First,
great many fake failure artists are
being sent to prison, and, second, 9th
er dishonest business men are being
discouraged from perpetrating fraud
by fear Of this new force in business.
although the number of cases
handled has diminished, the number
of convictions secured has grown from
14S in the 1926-27 period to 2OS in the
last year. Indictments have increased
from 4O5 = the former period to 419
in the IL months just closed.
ut Is difficult to estimate accurate
~ the sum saved for business con-
Germs by the forced retirement of sew.
eral hundred bankruptcy crooks, but
it is reasonable to believe, in view of
the lessening NUMBER of fraudulent
failures, that vigorous prosecution
efforts have prevented the loss Of
many millions Of dollars"
Mr.. ArdroL points out that the cost
of carrying on the work of the assO-
cations credit protection department
has been less than the sum recovered
from bankrupt estates IL the form of
hidden assets. He says that in the
past three years the associations In
vestigators have recovered and turned
back to estates $920,000 in concealed
assets.
"Recovering assets is Incidental to
the chief objective Of credit protec-
ton activities, which is to punish
commercial criminals by sending them
to prison." he asserts.
Some Fail to Prosecute.
"One Of the principal difficulties
met in the work is the unwillingness
Of certain type Of creditor to assist
in prosecuting crooked bankrupt
who may have fleeced him of thou
sands of dollars.
"In recent fake failure case only
one of the III interested creditors
wanted to prosecute. The others
hoped to recover small part of the
money owed them by allowing the
crook to 80 free.
"This practice of accepting COM
promise settlements from dishonest
bankrupts leaves the crook free to
continue his operations at the ex-
pense of his original victims and 9th
ers after he has re-established his
business under new disguise.
The report says that more than
10000 creditor concerns In all parts
of the United States have been finan-
cialy intereste In bankruptcies in
vestigated by the National Associa-
tion Of Credit Men. 1t is further STAT
ed that of the 2OS convictions secured
in the 1928 period, 113 were in the
East 50 in the Middle West md ID
on the Pacific coast.