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The Enquirer
Richmond, Henrico County, Virginia
What is this article about?
A Swedish merchant in Gottenburgh was tricked by a letter from London into paying 300 guineas to a young Englishman believed to have stolen 12,000l. in bank notes; the notes were later found to be forged.
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Copenhagen, Oct. 8.
Swindling—An article from Gottenburgh contains a remarkable trait of swindling, which deserves to be made public, not on account of its great boldness and adroitness, but in order to put all merchants upon their guard against a similar occurrence. One of the first houses in Gottenburgh received a letter from London, in which they were requested to instantly make the most diligent inquiries to discover a young English man, who had just fled from the house of a rich banker, and who they knew had embarked on board a ship freighted for Sweden. The description of the young man was given in this letter, & he was declared the author of a robbery to the amount of 12,000l. sterling, in bank notes. "If you should find him," said the letter, "as he belongs to a respectable family, confine yourself to the making him restore the plunder:" and afterwards have the goodness to give him 300 guineas in gold, which will take him to the Indies, where nothing more will be heard of him." The Swedish merchant, to whom this letter was addressed, caused a thorough search to be made on all sides: at last, being one day upon the Exchange, he perceived a young man whose figure and dress perfectly answered the description— He addressed him, and seeing that he was an Englishman, invited him to follow him—The young man hesitated, reddened, turned pale, even shed tears; in a word, before he had arrived at the merchant's house, he confessed all. Arrived in his closet, he threw himself at his feet, begged of him not to be delivered up to justice, and gave him the 12,000l. sterling, which was still enclosed in a portfolio, with the seal of the banker. The Swedish merchant made many serious remonstrances to him, but according to his instructions, gave him the 300 guineas, and promised to procure him a favorable opportunity of going to Bengal. He made haste to inform the banker in London that his 12,000l. were recovered, who replied, that he did not understand what he meant. The Bank-Notes were all forged, but the 300 guineas, given to the sharper, were good.
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Where did it happen?
Foreign News Details
Primary Location
Gottenburgh
Event Date
Oct. 8
Outcome
the bank notes were forged; the swindler received 300 guineas in gold.
Event Details
A prominent merchant in Gottenburgh received a letter from London requesting the search for a young Englishman who had allegedly robbed a banker of 12,000l. in bank notes and fled to Sweden. The letter instructed to recover the notes and give the man 300 guineas to go to the Indies. The merchant found a matching young man on the Exchange, who confessed and returned the notes. After giving him the money, the merchant informed the London banker, who denied knowledge of the theft; the notes were forged.