The Richmond Palladium And Sun Telegram

FOUR ARE ACCUSED OF CLOTHING FRAUD

NEW YORK, Aug. 10.—Charged with defrauding merchants in the middle west by purchasing clothing and merchandise through mail orders under the name of well rated houses, four men were arraigned Tuesday before United States Commissioner Hitchcock, and held for hearing Aug. 22.

They were Harry Lovett, Herman Shaw, Samuel Stein and Morris Cohen, partners in the Clever Dress House of this city. Their arrests were brought about through Frederick R. Stiefle of the New York Credit Men's association and the postal authorities.

Stiefle charged Lovett with being the leader in the operations. He declared Lovett rented offices in the Arcade building, St. Louis, in the name of Jacob Zuckerman, a merchant with a good commercial rating.

Orders were then placed by mail, he said, with New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and Boston houses for goods.

Goods Sold Below Cost.

Zuckerman's credit being good, the goods were shipped to Lovett, Stiefle said. From St. Louis the merchandise was reshipped to Shaw, who operated under the name of the Shaw Garment company. The goods were sold for 50 to 60 cents on the dollar, he said.

Lovett and Shaw are alleged to have carried on similar operations under the names of the Fitwell Garment company, St. Louis; the National Jobbing House, Chicago; the Goldstein Brothers, Chicago and Indianapolis; A. Applestein, Trenton, N. J.; R. Gibson, Des Moines, Ia.; Paul Bonner, Cincinnati, and other concerns.

Lovett, it was charged by Stiefle, successfully impersonated Harry Aaron, a Chicago merchant, and Edward Feldman, Cleveland business man.

Postoffice inspectors said they had evidence that business houses had been defrauded of more than $500,000.