More Victorian Criminals- Swindlers

Continuing our look at criminals described by Henry Mayhew, here is another lawbreaker useful for adventures in Victoriana. 

“Swindlers”, defrauding those of whom they buy

While most thieves in Victorian London use dexterity and secrecy to steal, swindlers get their loot in the daylight with the help of their victims. Swindlers make promises of future payment for goods or services with the intention of never making payment. When their creditors try to collect their money, they discover the swindler has moved away.

The size of a swindle can range from single person leaving town without paying their rent, to an entire team of conmen ordering thousands of pounds worth of valuables from all over the city before closing shop and moving on. The more valuable the payoff the more respectable the swindlers have to appear to pull off the job. A woman with decent clothes can fool a few shopkeepers into delivering furniture bought with credit, but an office with business cards, courteous employees, and a recordof good business practice could snatch a big enough score to retire.

Often after their goods are delivered, swindlers send letters to their creditors with excuses of bank errors, family emergencies, or additional instructions of how to get their money. This tactic can delay their discovery for a few weeks, buying time to wrap up their shady deals and departure plans. When their creditors start to get suspicious they find nothing but empty offices, unfurnished houses, and nonexistent law firms.

Swindlers found guilty of obtaining goods by fraud could be given anything from a light sentence (a few months in prison and a shilling fine) or a harsher sentence (a couple years hard labor), depending on how much they tried to steal.

Colin Wooder (Gnome clerk with a criminal record)

Initiative: 4

Physical: 4

Mental: 6

Social: 7

Health: 6

Traits: Good with numbers+2, (Seemingly) mild mannered employee+3

Combat: Surrender and wait for a good opportunity to run

Bespectacled and meek, Colin appears a very unlikely suspect. His professional manner and acumen for business lead many shopkeepers to assume he is a simple assistant not a swindling master mind. The calluses on his hands suggest months of hard labor in the recent past.

Honeymooners

Newly married couples need all sorts of furniture, clothes, and house goods to set up a new home, which is why it makes such a perfect cover for swindlers. A giddy young bride calling on a furniture dealer will be met with well wishes, and a newly rented house empty of any furnishings raises no eyebrows.

Any items needed to make a home, such as drapery, fine clothes, jewelry, kitchenware, décor, linens, furniture, books, and livery can be easily fenced.

Long Firms

Swindlers looking for high investment and high payoff use a long firm. Long firms are temporary businesses set up to give swindlers a good credit history. The long firm exists for a few months, or even years, ordering goods and paying for them before the criminal activity starts. Anyone looking closely sees nothing but a new company with growing needs.  

When they collect enough business contacts and they can quickly store or ship their wares, the swindlers order massive amounts of valuable merchandise. They pack up and leave, ready to sell their wares (sometimes legitimately) in another town.

Many long firms pretend to be manufacturing brokers or importers/exporters as cover for their purchases.

Adventure ideas

A swindler got away with all the stock in a contact’s store. The contact will go bankrupt unless his merchandise is recovered before the crooks fence it.

A long firm wrapped up shop and skipped town, leaving a trail of creditors. A great deal of specialized digging equipment is among the items stolen. Are they for resale or are they part of the next step in a sister plan?

This next week I will be serving as an official in the Wesleyan Bible Bowl National Championship. Between the competition and travel time, I won't have time for a post next week. If you miss me next Friday, look at an older post from the blog and pretend it's new.