C.H. Godwin, Former Cashier at Peoples Bank, Faces 32 Charges, August, 1921

Former Cashier of Local Bank Has 32 Charges to Face Next Term of Court

North Carolina – Martin County. In the Superior Court

State vs. C.H. Godwin

In above cause, pursuant to agreement between counsel for [words obscured] and the state –words obscured] Term, 1921, the Solicitor files herewith the following bill of particulars, and state alleges:

First: that on or about the 31st day of December, 1919, there was on the General Ledger of the bank a contingency account approximating the sum of $4,000; and that on or about the same date C.H. Godwin charged this amount to expense account and thereby reduced the cash to that extent; that this was done without the knowledge or authority of the officers or directors of the bank, and that there were no expense tickets to justify this transaction; and further that no expense tickets were ever made for the entry; and that this amount, or a large part thereof, was wrongfully misapplied and appropriated by C.H. Godwin.

Second: That prior to the 7th day of January, 1921, the individual ledger sheets of C.H. Godwin had been misplaced, and there are still a number of individual ledger sheets of the account of C.H. Godwin missing from the files of the bank; and that this was done for the purpose of concealing the true condition of his account with the bank.

Third: That prior to the 30th day of July, 1920, and thereafter, C.H. Godwin was a silent partner of C.B. Hassell; and that as such, he dealt in various stocks and bonds on a margin with J. Leon Woods & Co., of Norfolk, Va., and that during the continuance of said partnership, C.H. Godwin used money belonging to the Peoples Bank and in said deals appropriated to his own use money of The Peoples Bank to the amount of $4,000. In this connection, there were two items of $2,000 each; one being a check of C.B. Hassell and the other being a draft drawn on C.B. Hassell by J. Leon Wood and Company, both of which were paid by the Peoples Bank, and carried in the cash until January 7th, 1921, all of which was done without the knowledge or authority of the officers or the directors of the bank.

Fourth: That on or about the 4th day of January, 1921, C.H. Godwin, for the purpose of covering up funds of the Peoples Bank previously misappropriated and taken therefrom, put in the bank certain notes of himself and others aggregating the sum of approximately $30,000, the majority of said notes were worthless and some spurious, including the note of W.L. Stalls for $6,500 and note of Stalls and Company for $5,900, all of which was done without the knowledge of the officers or directors of the bank; that without the knowledge of the officers or directors of the bank, C.H. Godwin, for a considerable time prior to January 1, 1921, carried on a kiting business with other banks and individuals, which kiting business was carried on the books of the bank in the individual account of C.H. Godwin, as a result of leaving a balance of $5,500 now carried in the cash as a result of the kiting dealings with the Planters Bank of Stokes, N.C.

Fifth: That as a result of the kiting transactions carried on the by C.H. Godwin with the Peoples Bank and Trust Co. Of Coleraine, N.C., C.H. Godwin got credit on his personal account for the sum of $2,490, money belonging to The Peoples Bank, which amount has never been accounted for.

Sixth: That all of the kiting transactions with the various banks and individuals were run through the account of C.H. Godwin on the books of the bank, and the items of kiting he would hold in the cash until a large number accumulated, and then would charge to his account, to such an extent that on the 7th day of December, 1920, his account showed a balance of more than $135,000; that on the 4th day of January, 1921, this account was charged with more than $66,000, which would have overdrawn the account in a large sum, hand not more than $30,000 worth of his notes been placed to his credit on that day, all of which was done without the knowledge or authority of the officers or the directors of said bank.

Seventh: That for a long time prior to January 4th, 1921, C.H. Godwin had carried in the cash an item of the Nitrate Agencies Company in the sum of $7,367.65, and that for the purpose of concealment and deception said item in June, 1920, or thereabout was taken out of the cash and transferred to the Liberty Bond Account, and thereafter returned and carried in the cash as before, said item being in truth and fact a “dummy for cash taken from the bank.”

[To read the rest of the charges against C.H. Godwin, go to The enterprise. (Williamston, N.C.) 1899-201?, August 08, 1921, Image 2 · North Carolina Newspapers (digitalnc.org)].

From the front page of The Enterprise, Williamston, N.C., Tuesday, August 8, 1921. The photo shows the former Peoples Bank in Williamston and was taken in 2019.