United States v. Guterma

179 F. Supp. 420, 1959 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2395
District Court, E.D. New York·Decided December 16, 1959·No. Cr. No. 45999·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

BYERS, District Judge.

The defendant Guterma seeks by this motion a dismissal of the indictment in this case, consisting of twenty-six counts, against him as to Counts 1 to 4 inclusive, 7 to 11 inclusive, 16, and 18 to 26 inclusive.

There are several categories of alleged offenses comprehended in the indictment, as to which some understanding should be stated at the outset.

First Category.

(Greenport Bank Stock.)

The first six counts have to do with the purchase by the Bon Ami Company (to be called Bon Ami) of 678 shares of stock of the First National Bank of Greenport, at the ostensible price of $524,600, the actual price being $400,000, and the difference of $124,600 is said to have been eventually received by the defendant Guterma individually, and so retained. This transaction is characterized as a scheme and artifice to defraud Bon Ami, the dates involved being May 1, 1956 and May 7, 1957.

During that period the defendant Guterma was a director, chairman of the board of directors and an executive officer of Bon Ami, whereby he owed a duty of loyalty to protect the financial interests of Bon Ami and its stockholders, which duty he violated.

This transaction is described as a scheme and artifice to defraud Bon Ami, through false pretenses and representations as to the purchase price of the stock; this involved causing the books of account of the company to reflect the purchase price at the higher sum above stated while Guterma knew the actúa? [422]*422cost; and the misappropriation by him of the difference.

As a part of the said scheme that Bon Ami would borrow $250,000 on August 23,1956 from the Security National Bank to effect the stock purchase; that Bon Ami’s check for $524,600 dated August 23, 1956 would be issued payable to the said bank, and that the latter under instructions from this defendant, would disburse the entire sum as follows:

That a part of the scheme was that Guterma would cause the last mentioned five cheeks to be transported to Montreal, Canada, there to be cashed and the proceeds to be transported and delivered to Guterma in New York; also that Guter-ma would conceal from the auditors of Bon Ami and the stockholders of that company, the full facts involved. It is alleged (Count One, Para. 7) that on or about April 5, 1957, Guterma “for the purpose of executing such scheme and artifice to defraud, knowingly caused to be delivered by mail, * * * a letter * * * to wit: The annual report of the Bon Ami Company for the year 1956, addressed to Anthony Musto, 659 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn, New York, at the place at which it was addressed, within the Eastern District of New York.”

Counts Two and Three involve similar mailings on the same date to Erben A. Jenkins and Mrs. Elizabeth Halko.

Count Four alleges that for the purpose of executing the same scheme, etc., on September 4, 1956 Guterma mailed a letter from Security National Bank addressed to Lehrich, Secretary of Bon Ami, which letter acknowledged receipt of the check for $524,600 in payment of the said stock.

Count Five (three paragraphs) is that on August 23, 1956 Guterma caused Bon Ami to purchase the said stock, and to issue the said check, representing to the directors, officers, etc. of Bon Ami that the cost was as heretofore stated, and that he did cause the Security National Bank to issue cashier’s checks as above tabulated, and that on August 29, 1956, knowing that the five checks totalling $124,600 payable to Levin had been taken by fraud from Bon Ami, “willfully caused the aforesaid checks to be transported in interstate and foreign commerce from the Eastern District of New York to Montreal, Canada.”

Count Six is that Guterma, with knowledge of the foregoing, caused the said checks to be cashed in Canada, and the proceeds amounting “to approximately One Hundred Twenty-four Thousand Dollars ($124,000) in United States currency to be transported back from Canada to the Eastern District of New York for delivery to the defendant, Alexander L. Guterma, on or about August 31, 1956.”

These offenses are said to violate the following statutes:

Title 18 U.S.C. §§ 2 and 1341 (Mail Fraud);

Title 18 U.S.C. §§ 2 and 2314 (Transportation of Stolen Monies).

This motion is addressed to the first four counts of this category and therefore questions the applicability of the mail fraud statute thereto. The subject will be discussed below.

Second Category.

(Chatco Stock.)

The counts involved are Seven to Eleven inclusive, and the defendants implicated are Guterma and Eveleigh.

Count Seven involves the purported sale of 16,200 shares of Chatco Steel Products, Ltd. to Nevco, Inc. The period is the same; in addition to Guterma’s [423]*423official status, it is asserted that between the same dates the defendant Eveleigh was a director of the Bon Ami Company and Treasurer, and owed a like duty to protect the financial interests of the company and its stockholders.

Paragraph three covers the period between November 9, 1956 and May 7, 1957 and alleges that these same defendants devised a scheme to defraud Bon Ami and its stockholders and to obtain for their own use and benefit money and property of Bon Ami by false and fraudulent representations and pretenses, namely, to purport to sell on November 16 to 19, 1956 to Nevco, Inc., 16,200 shares of the common stock of Chatco Steel Products, Ltd. (to be called Chatco) which cost Bon Ami $249,608.79, and after trading in the Chatco stock had been suspended by the Toronto Stock Exchange; the purpose to deceive and defraud is said to have been shown in the conduct of these defendants “by falsely making it appear to the auditors of the books and to the stockholders of The Bon Ami Company that the aforesaid Chatco stock had been sold to Nev-co, Inc., for Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000), and that The Bon Ami Company had received One Plundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($150,-000) cash proceeds of such sale, whereas in truth and in fact there was no bona fide sale to Nevco, Inc., of the Chatco stock, and on December 31, 1956 The Bon Ami Company still owned such Chat-co stock.”

That it was part of the said scheme that Guterma would cause Nevco to be incorporated in New York on December 27, 1956, and that he would arrange at about that date for Security National Bank to loan Nevco, and for the latter to borrow from it, the sum of $150,000 “on the deposit as collateral for said loan of Six Hundred Seventy-eight (678) shares of the common stock of the First National Bank of Greenport, Long Island, New York, owned by The Bon Ami Company.”

Further that the proceeds of that loan were to be deposited to the credit of Nevco in the same bank on December 28, 1956, and that “Saul S.

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United States v. Guterma, 179 F. Supp. 420, 1959 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2395 (E.D.N.Y. 1959).

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