Evening star., 1948-01-28

On GI Housing Fraud
And Check Charges
George H. Williams, bankrupt
real estate man, went on trial in
District Court today as his at
torney told a jury the 40-year-
old defendant made some hor-ii
rible mistakes" but never in
tended to cheat war veterans In
promising to build homes for
them.
williams Is charged with illegal
use of the mails to further q scheme
to defraud veter ans and also with
transmitting forged checks in inter-
state commerce. He was indicted
last June 80 on 10 counts.
The Governments general case,
as outlined to a jury of three wom-
en- and nine men by Assistant
United States Attorney Cecil Heflin,
is based on complaints that VIII
liams, during the summer of 1916,
took more than 100000 from 1888
veterans in down payments on
homes. The payments, 1t was
charged, ranged from $500 to 81 900.
These down payments, Mr.. Heflin
said, were for houses Williams
promised to build for the veterans
in three real estate developments
in Prince Georges County.
First Witness Called.
The first witnesses were veterans
who testified that they made de-
posits Of $500 or $1,000 to the VIII
liams Co. and got neither houses
nor refunds. They were Harry w.
Baker, 1902 st. Paul street, Ken
sington, Md; Paul r. King, 2728
Jennings road, Kensington; Thomas
r. Roberts, 500 Eighth street NE,
and Robert T. Englehart, 3001
Windam road, Kensington.
Robert W. Mccullough, attorney
for Williams, declared in his open
ing statement to the jury and JUS
tice Alexander MoltZoff that VIII
liams was "overconfident what he
could do" in trying to help veterans
obtain homes during the acute hous-
ing shortage here.
He said he would ask the court S
permission to allow the jury to view
the Maryland properties on which,
he said, 27 houses had reached the
roofing stage and IA other founda-
tions had been laid at the time the
George M. Williams Co. was-thrown
into involuntary bankruptcy in De-
cember, 1946.
"Nothing to Hide" o.
1--WE have absolutely nothing to
hide" Mr.. Mccullough said. This
is not a complicated case but no
matter what was done there never
was any attempt to defraud. Will
liams made some horrible mistakes
He lacked good judgment in some
cases. But we are confident that
the Government cannot show he
ever intended to cheat veterans or
anybody else
Mr.. Heflin declared that Williams
not only used the mails in device
to defraud" veterans and forged
checks by signing ficticious names,
but also did not really own the
Maryland properties on which he
promised veterans he would build
homes.
No Houses Finished.
The Government prosecutor told
how Williams, by comparatively
small down payments, obtained land
for prospective real estate develop
ments at sites known as Gwynn
Park, Riggs Hill Manor and Oakton
in nearby Maryland.
"The Government will show" Mr..
Heflin continued, that he did not
have contract for some of those
alleged acquisitions nor did he really
own the property. Yet he made
contracts with veterans who gave
him down payments of $500 to 81 600
which he promised to return to them
when the houses were built. Yet,
not one single house was finished up
to the time the Williams company
went into bankruptcy, although
Williams promised the veterans the
houses would be ready within six
months"
Mr.. Hef1in concluded by reading
off list of seven checks which he
said were made payable to the Will
liams Co. by Williams himself.
These checks, Mr.. Hefiin explained,
were drawn on banks in Minnesota,
West Virginia, Louisiana, California,
Illinois and Washington State.
Check Forgery Charged.
In each instance, Mr.. Hefiin as
serted, williams forged the name Of
a nonexistent person, but was able
to obtain sums ranging from $500