State v. Goodman

526 P.2d 1073, 22 Ariz. App. 275, 1974 Ariz. App. LEXIS 464
Court of Appeals of Arizona·Decided October 3, 1974·No. No. 1 CA-CR 613·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinion

OPINION

HAIRE, Presiding Judge.

Defendant-appellant Dan Reed Goodman was found guilty of the charge of grand theft by false representation and received a sentence of not less than six nor more than seven years imprisonment at the Arizona State Prison.

On appeal he raises several questions, primarily concerning the corroboration requirements of A.R.S. § 13-664 and the sufficiency of the evidence to show that the crime charged was committed. The indictment accused the defendant of the crime of “Grand Theft by False Representation”, and charged that he did “knowingly and designingly, [by] false or fraudulent representation or pretense, defraud one MARTHA D. RAYMOND, of money valued in excess of $100.00, all in violation of A.R.S., Secs. 13-661, 13-663(A), 13-664 and 13-671 (A).”

The facts, taken in a light most favorable to sustaining the jury’s verdict, show that the defendant had at one time been employed by the Standard Life and Accident Insurance Company, but that at the time of the incidents here in question, he no longer had any connection with that company.

In September 1972 he went to the home of an elderly widow, Mrs. Martha Raymond, and asked to see her. He then handed Mrs. Raymond a Standard Life business card with the name “F. Jennings” written on it. Mrs. Raymond then asked what the “F” stood for, and he replied, “Floyd”. The evidence is not clear as to whether defendant told her in so many words “I am Floyd Jennings”, but we deem this immaterial, as the jury could certainly have found from the foregoing that by his conduct he represented himself to be Floyd Jennings. Cf. Rex v. Barnard, 7 Car. & P. 784. There is nothing in the record to indicate that there was in fact any such person as Floyd Jennings. After telling Mrs. Raymond that he was working for Standard Life, defendant offered to consolidate two policies which Mrs. Raymond had with the company, but she was not interested and so advised him. Apparently his knowledge of Mrs. Raymond’s insurance status had been gained when he was previously employed by Standard Life.

Defendant then proceeded to try to interest Mrs. Raymond in an alleged bond program from Standard Life. He gave her a pamphlet from the company indicating a net worth of $77,000,000. He told her that the bonds would pay ten per cent. After several visits to Mrs. Raymond’s home, the defendant took her to a savings [277]*277and loan institution where she withdrew $25,000 from her account, receiving a check drawn on the bank and payable to herself. ' She testified that the defendant then took the check from her, drove her home, and obtained her signature on two sheets of blank Standard Life stationery. She further stated that she allowed the defendant to keep the check so that he could purchase corporate bonds for her; that she believed his representation that he worked for Standard Life and could purchase bonds; and that she had never endorsed the check. A fair summary of additional evidence is that Mrs. Raymond gave the check to the defendant feeling that he could only hold it pending her endorsement at the time of the purchase of the bonds.

Later, defendant deposited the $25,000 check, which then bore the purported endorsement of Mrs. Raymond, to an account entitled “Southwestern States Securities, Inc.”. After the check cleared, defendant withdrew the $25,000 in the form of two cashier’s checks payable to himself, and $10,000 in cash. Subsequently, not having received any bonds from defendant, Mrs. Raymond became suspicious enough to contact the authorities, and after investigation defendant was indicted for the crime of grand theft by false representation and arrested.

The indictment was quite specific and, as previously stated, charged the defendant as follows:

“The Grand Jurors of the county of Maricopa, in the name of the state of Arizona, and by its authority accuse DAN REED GOODMAN of the crime of GRAND THEFT BY FALSE REPRESENTATION, a felony and charge that on or about the 6th day of October, 1972, in Maricopa County, Arizona, and before the bringing of this indictment, the said DAN REED GOODMAN, knowingly and designingly, be [sic] false or fraudulent representation or pretense, defraud one MARTHA D. RAYMOND, of money valued in excess of $100.00, all in violation of A.R.S., Sec. 13-661, 13-663(A), 13-664 and 13-671 (A).”

The state admits that by reason of the limiting language contained in the indictment, the reference to A.R.S. § 13-661 must be construed as a reference to subsection A (3) of that statute which reads as follows:

“A. Theft is:
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“3. Knowingly and designingly, by any false or fraudulent representation or pretense, defrauding any other person of money, labor or property, whether real or personal.”

Although defendant raises several questions on this appeal, the question which we deem dispositive concerns the corroboration requirements of A.R.S. § 13-664 and the trial judge’s jury instructions relating thereto. A.R.S. § 13-664 provides:

“A. Upon a trial for having obtained the signature of a person to a written instrument, or having obtained from a person money, personal property or other valuable thing, with an intent to cheat or defraud another designedly by any false pretense, defendant cannot be convicted if the false pretense was expressed in language unaccompanied by a false token or writing, unless the pretense, or some note or memorandum thereof, is in writing, subscribed by or in the handwriting of defendant, or unless the pretense is proved by the testimony of two witnesses, or that of one witness and corroborating circumstances.
“B. Subsection A of this section shall not apply to a prosecution for falsely representing or personating another, and, in such assumed character, marrying or receiving money or property.”

Defendant contends that under the indictment and the facts of this case, § 13-664A is applicable and that corroboration is required of the false representations allegedly made by him. The state, on the other hand, contends that § 13-664B applies, and that corroboration was not re[278]*278quired. It was the state’s theory that defendant “represented himself as someone other than what he was, in violation of § 13-664B, a representative of Standard Life, a wealthy company that Mrs. Raymond was familiar with.” Defendant counters this argument by pointing out that the language of § 13-664B is practically identical to that of A.R.S. § 13 — 412,1 dealing with the crime of false personation, and that therefore subsection B must be interpreted as eliminating the corroboration requirement for the crime of false personation only, a crime with which defendant was not charged.

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State v. Goodman, 526 P.2d 1073, 22 Ariz. App. 275, 1974 Ariz. App. LEXIS 464 (Ark. Ct. App. 1974).

526 P.2d 1073 (State v. Goodman) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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