Sheffield Daily Telegraph – Tuesday 27 September 1927

TO PAY £73 17s.

Wath Man’s Offences Under State Insurance.

Fines amounting to £73 17s. were imposed at the Rotherham West Riding Court yesterday, when Henry Bryars, master plasterer, of Doncaster Lane, Wath-on Dearne, was summoned for fraud in connection with State insurance cards.

Mr. R. T. Saffell, prosecuting behalf of the Ministry of Health, said that defendant had removed stamps from an old card of his own and placed them on the card of Thomas Henry Harold Ellis, who was employed by him. The offence was committed some time in 1925 or 1926.

The fraud was particularly hard to detect, and the cards had passed through a Labour Exchange when the man became temporarily unemployed and nothing had been noticed. It was later noticed by an inspector that Is. 7d. stamps had been affixed when the rate was only 1s. 3d.

Questioned about the cards, the defendant wrote out statement saying that the stamps had been taken from one of his old cards which he had used when he himself was a journeyman. Four of the stamps were known to have been previously used. The deductions had been made from the man’s wages just the same.

For this offence fines of £7 10s. for each stamp, a total of £30 were imposed.

There were seven other charges against him of failing to affix National Health Insurance stamps to cards in 1925 and 1926. The omissions had extended over a considerable period, and sum of £19 10s was recoverable. There were also four charges of failing to affix Unemployment Insurance stamps, and the amount involved in these cases was £6.

It was stated that defendant was pocket to the extent of £12 10s., the deductions from the men’s wages had been proceeding all the time. For the eleven omissions he was fined £1 in each case, with the option of fourteen days in each case, to run consecutively. He was also ordered to pay the £25 10s. which was involved, and £7 7s. witnesses’ expenses.

The magistrates allowed him time in which to pay.