The Auctioneer’s Audacity: A Watch and a Pen for Gold
Three local men face fraud charges after allegedly selling worthless gold-washed trinkets to unsuspecting buyers under the guise of a legitimate auction.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Yesterday J. O. Richam caused to be arrested by Justice Netherland on complaint of Everett Locke, for obtaining money under false pretenses. The complainant alleges that the defendants induced him to part with $60 for three watches, three rings and a silver pen, under the pretense that they were lots at an auction; in fact, they were only gold-washed base metal.
The court found J. O. Richam, A.C. Ach and D. B. Crook, defendants, at the desk of Justice Steiger. The three had been in conversation for some time before today afternoon. The case was heard by the judge; the three rings and three cases were produced as evidence. Mr. Locke testified that he attended the auction held by the defendants, Richam and Crook, at their store. He bought the items believing them to be genuine gold. The defense claimed they were sold as 'gold-washed' and that a written guarantee was wanted but not provided.
The case will be heard again before Justice Steiger in the case of the three men. Those present also gave under bonds of $500 where Mr. Ach testifies that he will be able to prove at the proper time that the value rests on the gold-washed merits.
This 19th-century tale of 'gold-washed' fraud mirrors modern concerns about counterfeit luxury goods and deceptive online auctions. It highlights how the struggle between consumer protection and unscrupulous sellers is as old as commerce itself, with Seattle’s early residents already navigating the risks of buying from opportunistic auctioneers.
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