People v. Helmlinger

CURTIS, J.

The defendant was convicted of the crime of obtaining money by false pretenses. The specific charge against the defendant was that he obtained the sum of $200 from the complaining witness T. S-. Miller for a one-half interest in a certain real estate business which defendant represented he was then carrying on at 311 San Fernando building in the city of Los Angeles. The false and fraudulent representations, which it is alleged defendant made to the said Miller and which induced the latter to pay defendant said $200 for a half interest in said real estate business, were that said real estate business w:as then yield

[141]

ing a net profit of from $800 to $l,000i per

month;

that defendant had sold, for one Benjamin F. Porter, at a price of $850 per acre, two tracts of land, one of twelve acres and the other of twenty-five acres, and that said defendant had listed with him for sale, by the owners thereof, a number of pieces of real property located in the city of Los Angeles.

Practically the only question involved in this appeal is whether there is sufficient corroborative evidence in the record to comply with the requirements of section 1110 of the Penal Code. The complaining witness testified that he called upon the defendant in the first part of August, 1922, in response to an advertisement appearing in one of the daily papers of the city of Los Angeles, and that as a result of their negotiations, on the sixth day of September, he bought a one-half interest in the real estate business, owned by defendant, for the sum of $275, paying $200 in cash, the balance to be paid out of the profits of the business. He further testified in substance that all of the false and fraudulent representations set forth in the information were made to him by the defendant prior to the time he purchased an interest in said business, and that he was induced to make said purchase by reason of said false and fraudulent representations. No other person was present on any of the occasions when these statements were made by the defendant to the complaining witness, and it is claimed, therefore, that the testimony, as to the false pretenses made by defendant, lacks that corroboration required by the above provisions of the code. Two other witnesses, however, testified in the case that representations similar to those the complaining witness testified were made to him, were made to them by the defendants during the months of July and August, 1922-, Bach of said witnesses testified that he called upon defendant in answer to an advertisement appearing in a daily paper of said city, wherein defendant offered to sell a one-half interest in a real estate business located at 311 San Fernando building in the city of Los Angeles. And each of said two last-named witnesses testified that the defendant made statements to them which were practically the same as the statements which the complaining witness testified were made to him by the defend