People v. Gaines

THE COURT.

After consideration of this appeal, we hereby adopt, as part of this decision, the following language taken from the opinion prepared by Mr. Justice York for the honorable District Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District, Division One:

“The appellant was tried upon an indictment containing ten counts charging him with the offense of forgery, and upon two informations containing ten counts charging him with the offense of grand theft. From judgment of convictions on all counts charged in said indictment and informations and from the order of the trial court denying his motions for a new trial, appellant prosecutes this appeal.

“Defendant was charged with the theft of $9,500 in money, the personal property of Lola Carr Harman, real

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property of the value of $10,000 belonging to said Lola Carr Harman, and stock of the J. C. Penney Company of the value of $92,716.25, also the property of said Lola Carr Harman. In addition, he was charged with the theft of $350 in money, the property of C. M. and Ruth Bowler. The indictment charged the forging of the name of Lola Carr Harman to ten stock transfers and assurances and letters of attorneys, and the revocable power to receive and transfer certain stock certificates of the J. C. Penney Company.

“As a defense, appellant claimed that he had formed a partnership with Mrs. Harman for the purpose of conducting and maintaining a general brokerage and real estate business and that, in pursuance of that association and relationship, appellant was to continue his already established business as a real estate broker, but on a more expanded and extensive scale due, in the main, to the fact that the said Lola Carr Harman had and did agree to furnish large sums of money to be used in the conduct of the business of making property loans, and that all profits—the result of said loans—were to be shared equally by appellant and said Lola Carr Harman. In her testimony, the said Mrs. Harman denied the existence of such relationship and charged that appellant at various times had forged her name and signature to certain documents,' instruments and securities, and by reason of such forgeries, appellant secured divers sums of money and converted the same to his own personal use.