Loan Clubs—A Perplexing Problem
| Published date | 01 October 1940 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X4001300410 |
| Date | 01 October 1940 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Loan Clubs--A Perplexing Problem
By
CHIEF
INSPECTOR
L.
RUNDLE
C.LD.,
New Scotland Yard
WIT H the approach of Christmas, the usual kinds of
perennial frauds and other acts of dishonesty which are
common to that season will reappear in their same form, and
some of them will present the same problems to police. One
of the most troublesome cases is the loan club secretary or
treasurer who misappropriates
part
of the subscriptions
handed to him by members of the club, and who accounts for
the balance.
Generally, no difficulty is experienced in dealing with a
man who misappropriates the whole of the money handed to
him; he can, if necessary, be charged with the fraudulent con-
version of the gross amount received by him in different sums
on different dates and which it was his duty to pay over on a
certain day. Evidence of the different sums received on
different days may be admitted to show how the gross amount
is made up. (R. v. Balls, L.R. IC.C.R. 328.) Nor is there
any difficulty in deciding upon the charge to be preferred
when it is known that specific sums have been fraudulently
converted; indeed, it is usual to charge three recent specific
amounts handed to a defendant on specific dates by specific
persons, and to introduce in evidence, or by way of antecedent
history, the total defalcations;
but
the following example of a
defaulting loan club secretary will serve to show some of the
difficulties which arise when only a
part
of the subscriptions is
converted.
Let
it be imagined that Xwas the secretary and treasurer
of Y loan club, whose members met at the same public house.
He was in no way connected with the management of the
public house and he received no salary for his services.
It
was
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