FALSE PRETENCES  , in

English law, the obtaining from any other person by any false pretence any chattel, money or valuable security, with intent to defraud . It is an indictable misdemeanour under the Larceny Act of ,861 . The broad distinction between this offence and larceny is that in the former the owner intends to part with his property, in the latter he does not . This offence dates as a statutory crime practically from 1756 . At common law the only remedy originally available for an owner who had been deprived of his goods by fraud was an indictment for the crime of cheating, or a civil action for deceit . These remedies were insufficient to cover all cases where money or other properties had been obtained by false pretences, and the offence was first partially created by a statute of Henry VIII . (1541), which enacted that if any person should falsely and deceitfully obtain any money, goods, &c., by means of any false token or counterfeit letter made in any other man's name, the offender should suffer any punishment other than death, at the discretion of the judge . The scope of the offence was enlarged to include practically all false pretences by the act of 1756, the provisions of which were embodied in the Larceny Act 1861 . The principal points to notice are that the pretence must be a false pretence of some existing fact, made for the purpose of inducing the prosecutor to part with his property (e.g. it was held not to be a false pretence to promise to pay for goods on delivery), and it may be by either words or conduct . The property, too, must have been actually obtained by the false pretence . The owner must be induced by the pretence to make over the absolute and immediate ownership of the goods, other-wise it is " larceny by means of a trick." It is not always easy, however, to draw a distinction between the various classes of offences . In the case where a man goes into a restaurant and orders a meal, and, after consuming it, says that he has no means of paying for it, it was usual to convict for obtaining food by false pretences .

But R. v .

Jones, 1898, L.R. x Q.B . 119 decided that it is neither larceny nor false pretences, but an offence under the Debtors Act 1869, of obtaining credit by fraud . (See also CHEATING; FRAUD; LARCENY.) United States.—American statutes on this subject are mainly copied from the English statutes, and the courts there in a general way follow the English interpretations . The statutes of each state must be consulted . There is no Federal statute, thoughthere are Federal laws providing penalties for false personation of the lawful owner of public stocks, &c., or of persons entitled to pensions, prize money, &c . (U.S . Rev . Stats . § 5435), or the false making of any order purporting to be a money order ('id . § 5463)• In Arizona, obtaining money or property by falsely personating another is punishable as for larceny (Penal Code, 1901, § 479) . Obtaining credit by false pretences as to wealth and mercantile character is punishable by six months' imprisonment and a fine not exceeding three times the value of the money or property obtained (id .

§ 481) . In

Illinois, whoever by any false representation or writing signed by him, of his own respectability, wealth or mercantile correspondence or connexions, obtain; credit and thereby de-frauds any person of money, goods, chattels or any valuable thing, or who procures another to make a false report of his honesty; wealth, &c., shall return the money, goods, &c., and be fined and imprisoned for a term not exceeding one year (Crim . Code, 1903, ch. xxxviii . §§ 96, 97) . Obtaining money or property by bogus cheques, the " confidence game " (Dorn v . People, 1907, § 228, Ill . 216), or " three card monte," sleight of hand, fortune-telling, &c., is punishable by imprisonment for from one to ten years (id . §§ 98, too) . Obtaining goods from warehouse, mill or wharf by fraudulent receipt wrongly stating amount of goods deposited—by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than ten years (id . § 124) . Fraudulent use of railroad passes is a misdemeanour (id . 125a) .

In

Massachusetts it is simple larceny to obtain by false pretences the money or personal chattel of another (Rev . Laws, 1902, ch. ccviii . § 26) . Obtaining by a false pretence with intent to defraud the signature of a person to a written instrument, the false making whereof would be forgery, is punishable by imprisonment in a state prison or by fine (id . § 27) . In New York, obtaining property by false pretences, felonious breach of trust and embezzlement are included in the term " larceny " (Penal Code, § 528; Paul v . Dumar, 106 N.Y . 508; People v . Tattlekan, 1907, 104 N.Y . Suppl . 8o5), but the methods of proof required to establish each crime remain as before the code . Obtaining lodging and food on credit at hotel or lodging house with intent to defraud is a misdemeanour (Pen .

Code, § 382) .

Purchase of property by false pretences as to person's means or ability to pay is not criminal when in writing signed by the party to be charged (Pen .