THE BOGUS CHEQUE
OPERATOR

THE FOLLOWING IS the text of an address given by Detective-Sergeant Ledoux,
of the Criminal Investigation Department of the British Columbia Provincial Police,
to the Credit Grantors’ Association of Victoria. Mr. H. B. Dawson, secretary of the
Association, had invited the sergeant to speak at their luncheon on January 14th.
The subject of bogus cheques was chosen as the most timely topic to discuss with

a group representing mercantile credit.

3elieving that many of our readers engaged in business might get some benefit

from this talk, it is being quoted verbatim.

“Mr. Chairman, Madam, and
Gentlemen :

“I wish to thank you for the privilege
of being able to address you today on a
subject which is of great mutual interest,
namely, “The Bogus Cheque Operator’. I
had also intended to discuss with you other
forms of fraud perpetrated on business
men, but I am afraid that I could not do
justice to the subject in the relatively short
time available for an after-luncheon talk.”

“T feel doubly gratified at your invita-

tion to speak here. Not only can I discuss
our problems, and enlist your aid in meet-
ing a difficult situation, but I find myself
in the happy position of speaking to a
group of people who want to hear what
a policeman has to say. Usually people
only listen to a policeman because they
have to.

“In the twenty-five minutes or so allo-
cated to me, I can only give you a brief
outline of the law enforcement officer’s

point of view in dealing with the bogus
cheque operator. |

“Fraud, false pretences, and forgery
have all increased substantially during the
war, and this rise has carried on into the
present post-war period. Through the
war years, Pacific Coast industry, in its
all-out effort to meet ever increasing de-
mands, attracted a vast floating popula-
tion, many of whom were nomadic in
character, moving from place to place
under difficult conditions. Among these,
there was a very liberal sprinkling of un-
desirable elements from other communi-
ties. Working in new centres where their
former criminal activities were unknown,
and released from the surveillance of the
law enforcement agencies in their home
towns, who knew them very well, they felt
they could operate here with impunity.
Many found to their sorrow that it did
not take long for the police to pick out
the wheat from the chaff. But the rapid
tempo of business afforded the tricksters
a lush field of endeavour. Money was
turning over very fast, and identification
of so many transients became almost im-
possible.

“The criminal element took advantage
of this, and we witnessed a mounting list
of payroll frauds. Legitimate workers in
shipyards and kindred industries fre-
quently complained that they had not re-
ceived their pay cheques. Investigations
showed that the cheques had been col-
lected by others using bogus credentials,
such as forged identity cards, altered Na-

*

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