John Thomson (fraudster) facts for kids
John Thomson was a warehouse manager for a company called the Charitable Corporation. He was involved in a dishonest plan that took a lot of money from the company.
The Charitable Corporation
The Charitable Corporation was a company that lent money to people. They would lend money using people's valuable items as a guarantee, like a pawn shop. They charged a fee for these loans.
John Thomson became the manager of their main warehouse in Fenchurch Street, London. This happened on 15 November 1725. Another person, Mr. Clarke, was also appointed at the same time.
About six months later, Mr. Clarke was asked to check for any missing items in the warehouse. But then, Thomson managed to get Mr. Clarke removed from his job. Thomson's key to the warehouse was then given to another employee. This meant Thomson had full access to everything in the warehouse.
The Group's Plan
Thomson teamed up with a banker named George Robinson. He also worked with Sir Archibald Grant, William Burroughs, and William Squire. The last three were actually part of the company's management team.
In October 1727, this group started buying shares in the Charitable Corporation. They also bought shares in another company, the York Buildings Company, and in some Scottish mines.
The group used the Charitable Corporation's own money to buy these shares. They pretended that the company had lent money against items that didn't actually exist. For a while, their plan worked well. The York Buildings Company shares more than doubled in value.
The Collapse of the Plan
In October 1731, Robinson and Thomson ran away to France. On 25 October, the company's accountant, Jeremiah Wainwright, put an advertisement in the London Gazette. It offered a £1000 reward for Thomson's capture.
The advertisement described Thomson:
- He was about five feet seven inches tall.
- He was between 35 and 40 years old.
- He had a full, oval face and large hazel eyes.
- He had large, dark brown eyebrows.
- He was a bit heavy, with thick legs.
- He walked with his knees turned inward.
- He was thought to be wearing a blue cloth coat with gold buttons.
Robinson later returned to London but left again. Thomson traveled to Rome, where he was caught by a person named Senor Belloni. Thomson was then put in prison in the "Castle of St Angelo".
Sir Robert Sutton, one of the company's managers, tried to get information about Thomson. He received a letter from Belloni that offered terms for Thomson's return. By this time, the dishonest plan was being investigated by a group from the House of Commons. When they saw Belloni's letter, they were so angry that they ordered it to be publicly burned.
