United States v. Kreuter

• Decision Date: 05 March 1954
• Docket Number: Cr. No. 56759.
• Citation: 119 F. Supp. 227
• Parties: UNITED STATES v. KREUTER.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Texas

119 F. Supp. 227

UNITED STATES v. KREUTER.

Cr. No. 56759.

United States District Court, W. D. Texas, El Paso Division.

March 5, 1954.

Charles F. Herring, U. S. Atty., Austin, Tex., Holvey Williams, Asst. U. S. Atty., El Paso, Tex., for plaintiff.

Joseph A. Calamia, El Paso, Tex., for defendant.

THOMASON, District Judge.

This case was tried before me without a jury on February 24, 1954, at which time I announced a verdict of guilty on all counts. On the 5th day of March, 1954, subject was sentenced to five years on each of the first six counts, all sentences to run concurrently. The seventh count was at that time dismissed on motion of the United States Attorney, as the record conclusively shows that the defendant had been arrested before the mails were used as alleged in said count.

The indictment in this case is in seven counts, each of which purports to charge a violation of the mail fraud statute, to wit, Section 1341, Title 18, United States Code. Some of the counts are based on mailing of letters in El Paso, Texas, and others are based on receiving of letters in El Paso, as will more specifically appear. The first count of the indictment is as follows:

"The Grand Jury Charges:

"1. That commencing on or about the 28th day of October, 1953, and continuing thereafter until on or about the 28th day of November, 1953, Gottfried William Kreuter devised and intended to devise a scheme and artifice to defraud persons who would be willing to accept and cash his worthless instruments in writing (checks) and to obtain money and property by means of the following false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises, well knowing at the time that same would be false when made: Said scheme being to open an account in a certain bank by depositing a check purporting to be bona fide, but in fact worthless, on another bank and thereby obtain from the original bank a receipt showing said deposit; which said receipt would later be used in inducing prospective victims to cash his worthless checks. Before this said scheme and fraud was discovered, it was a further part of his scheme to move on to another city or place and there to perpetrate a similar scheme, fraud, and situation. It was a further part of said scheme to approach some prospective victim, usually a Sears and Roebuck Store, and by the use of the deposit receipt received from the initial bank to open a charge account and to pass one or more worthless checks against said fictitious deposit. In this connection, a part of the scheme was to claim that he was working for a reputable local institution and to give a false and fictitious address and telephone number, usually choosing an address occupied by a person with a name the same as, or similar to, his. A further part of the scheme was to use the evidence of this charge account at other places to persuade those victims to cash more of his worthless checks.

"2. On or about October 28, 1953, in El Paso County, Texas, within the El Paso Division of the Western District of Texas, and in the jurisdiction of this Court, Gottfried William Kreuter, for the purpose of executing the aforesaid scheme and artifice and attempting so to do, caused to be placed in an authorized depository for mail matter a letter containing a check, payable to G. W. Kreuter, in the amount of $1,500.00, addressed to the First National Bank of Denver, Denver, Colorado, to be sent and delivered by the Post Office Establishment of the United States."

The fourth count is identical with the first, except for the time of mailing and the contents of the letter. The mailing charge of the second count is as follows:

"2. On or about November 2, 1953, in El Paso County, Texas, within the El Paso Division of the Western District of Texas, and in the jurisdiction of this Court, Gottfried William Kreuter, for the purpose of executing the aforesaid scheme and artifice and attempting so to do, caused to be delivered by mail, according to the direction thereon, a letter addressed to the El Paso National Bank, El Paso, Texas."

The third, fifth and sixth counts are identical with the second count, except that some of these counts describe the contents of the letter. In my opinion, each of the letters had to do with the scheme to defraud and, as I understand it, from motions filed and argument of counsel, the sole, or at least main defense, is that the evidence shows a series of schemes to defraud, and that each had reached its fruition before the mails were used for that respective scheme. It is therefore contended that the mails were not employed in furtherance of the respective schemes to defraud. In my opinion, however, the evidence clearly shows a continuing scheme as alleged in the indictment, and I so find. This is a question of fact for my determination. United States v. Kuiken, D.C., 101 F.Supp. 929, which opinion by this Court was, in effect, adopted by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, 196 F.2d 223, certiorari denied 344 U.S. 867-910, 73 S.Ct. 109, 97 L.Ed. 657.

Defendant did not testify, nor did he offer any evidence. The Government's evidence, in brief, was as follows:

On October 28, 1953, defendant opened an account in the El Paso National Bank, El Paso, Texas, by depositing a check in the amount of $1,500, drawn on the First National Bank of Denver, Denver, Colorado. Defendant gave as his employer, R. E. McKee Construction Company of El Paso, Texas, which is a local construction company with a nationwide scope and reputation. He also gave a local address which was listed in the telephone book under a name very similar to his. This same, or very similar, information was given at the opening of each of the other bank accounts, as will later appear, and was shown to be entirely false on each occasion. The $1,500 check mentioned above was mailed by the El Paso...