United States v. Jones

• Decision Date: 21 March 1960
• Docket Number: No. 20593.,20593.
• Citation: 182 F. Supp. 146
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Missouri
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. Robert Lester JONES and Mary Jane Jones, Defendants.

182 F. Supp. 146

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. Robert Lester JONES and Mary Jane Jones, Defendants.

No. 20593.

United States District Court W. D. Missouri, W. D.

March 21, 1960.

Edward L. Scheufler, U. S. Atty., O. J. Taylor, Asst. U. S. Atty., Kansas City, Mo., for plaintiff.

Roger J. Barbieri, Kansas City, Mo. (court-appointed), for defendants.

RIDGE, Chief Judge.

In this criminal action the Government seeks to bring certain "credit sales slips" within the ambit of Section 2314, Title 18 U.S.C.A. by claiming the same to be a "security" within the definition of that term as found in Section 2311, Title 18 U.S.C.A.

The information in this case contains four counts. Counts I and II charge the defendant Robert Lester Jones with knowingly transporting and causing "to be transported in interstate commerce * * * a certain falsely made and forged security, to-wit, Montgomery Ward credit sales slip Number 1205-32, in the amount of $33.90, bearing the falsely made and forged signature of Jim B. Loftus * * * well knowing the same to have been falsely made and forged * * *." Counts III and IV present similar charges against the defendant Mary Jane Jones. The parties have formally waived trial by Jury and agreed that the issues shall be determined by the Court on the basis of the following stipulation of facts:

"1. That the defendants, Robert Lester Jones and Mary Jane Jones, are husband and wife;

"2. That commencing September 10, 1959, the defendant Mary Jane Jones was employed as a clerk in the Central Credit Department of Montgomery Ward, 6200 St. John Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri;

"3. That Montgomery Ward follows the practice of issuing `credit cards' to customers whose credit ratings meet the requirements of that company; a customer making application for such a credit card executes an agreement which provides that said customer will pay for any merchandise purchased on credit from the company.

"A customer to whom such card has been issued may, in purchasing merchandise from Montgomery Ward, present such card to the sales clerk for use in preparation of a `credit sales slip.' Such credit card bears the name and address of the customer; sales personnel of Montgomery Ward are authorized to honor such credit card and to sell merchandise on credit to the holder of such card without further investigation or approval of the customer's credit rating with the company.

"4. It was a part of the duties of the defendant, Mary Jane Jones, as an employee of Montgomery Ward to receive credit cards which were returned by the Post Office Department as undelivered and to place same in proper office channels for correction or other processing; in her capacity as an employee of Montgomery Ward, the defendant, Mary Jane Jones, came into possession of two Montgomery Ward credit cards returned by the Post Office Department; the first card was obtained by her on or about October 1, 1959, and was issued to Jim B. Loftus, 9236 Noland Road, Lenexa, Kansas; the second such card was obtained on or about October 15, 1959, and was issued in the name of Jeffie Suttles, 3011 North 6th Street, Kansas City, Kansas.

"5. After misappropriating said credit cards, the defendant, Mary Jane Jones, took them to her home and showed them to her husband, the defendant Robert Lester Jones, and informed him of the manner in which she obtained said cards. Thereafter, the two defendants, by use of these credit cards, made purchases of merchandise totaling in excess of $1500 at Montgomery Ward stores in the states of Kansas and Missouri. At the time of each such purchase the sales clerk prepared a credit slip, using the credit cards presented by the defendants, and after preparation of such credit sales slips, one of the defendants forged on such credit sales slip the signature appearing on the credit card then being used.

"6. On or about October 24, 1959, the defendant, Robert Lester Jones, forged the signature of Jim B. Loftus on Montgomery Ward credit sales slips numbers 1205-32 and 3476-41, in the amounts of $33.90 and $33.88, respectively; such purchases and forgeries occurred at the Montgomery Ward store located in Kansas City, Kansas.

"7. On or about October 24, 1959, the defendant Mary Jane Jones forged the signature of Mrs. Jeffie Suttles on Montgomery Ward credit sales slips numbers 1489-49 and 3481-31, in the amounts of $26.86 and $15.83, respectively; such purchases and forgeries occurred at the Montgomery Ward store located in Kansas City, Kansas.

"8. Following the forgery of the credit sales slips in Kansas City, Kansas, the said credit slips were transported by Montgomery Ward employees from Kansas City, Kansas, to the Montgomery Ward main store, 6200 St. John Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri, for entry upon the customers' accounts and for billing of said purchases to said customers. As an employee of Montgomery Ward, the defendant Mary Jane Jones was fully aware of the fact that such sales slips had to be so transported from Kansas to Missouri. The defendant Robert L. Jones, although not having been advised of the fact that credit slips were necessarily returned to Missouri, was aware of the fact that the main store of Montgomery Ward, in the Kansas City area, was located in Kansas City, Missouri.

"9. The credit sales slips mentioned above, bearing numbers 1205-32, 3476-41, 1489-49 and 3481-31, are attached hereto as Government's exhibits 1, 2, 3 and 4; it is stipulated by the parties that such exhibits are admitted in evidence without objection on part of defendants except that defendants object to their admission on the ground that exhibits 1, 2, 3 and 4 do not constitute `securities' within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. 2311 and 2314."

In light of the above agreed statement of facts; and the charges alleged in the several counts of the information, it is conceded that the only issue here for determination, to establish the guilt or innocence of the defendants, is the question of whether or not the "credit sales slips" described in each count of the information constitute a "security" within the meaning of the above statutes. In light of the ruling hereinafter made, that limitation of issue by the parties may be accepted, although there may also be an issue respecting "interstate commerce" which we do not reach, before guilt could be pronounced under the facts stipulated.

The "credit sales slip" which the Government contends is a "security" as defined in Section 2311, supra, may be described as follows: It has the name "Montgomery Ward" printed at the top, with a sales slip number directly opposite thereto. In a space designated "Charge to" appears the imprint of a credit charge-plate issued by Montgomery Ward in the name of one "Jim B. Loftus, 9236 Noland Rd., Lena, Kansas," bearing number "0331-801T." Thereafter, there is described on the slip a sale of merchandise that carried a specific article number and unit price, which, together with added sales tax and a "time price," reveals a total sale of $33.90. In the center of such document appears the printed notation, "customer's signature" and opposite thereto appears, in writing, the name "Jim B. Loftus." Such is the form of document alleged in each count of the information and established by the evidence which the defendants are charged with transporting in interstate commerce; and which the Government asserts is an "evidence of indebtedness" defined as a "security" by Section 2311, supra.

Because the type of document or instrument here involved is quite common to the present-day system of merchandising; because the theft and unauthorized use of credit cards has become quite common and has resulted in...