People's Pilot, Volume 3, Number 30, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 January 1894 — BIG FRAUD REVEALED. [ARTICLE]

BIG FRAUD REVEALED.

A (Fell-Known Pension Agent Charged with Robbing Uncle Bam. Buffalo, N. Jan. 9.—United States Marshal Watts has at rested Maj. W. Bowen Moore,a pension claim agent, od a warrant sworn out by Special Pension Examiner Ayres, charging him with issuing illegal penson vouchers and filing false and forged affidavits and writing in support of a pension claim. Maj. Moore served on Gen. Grant’s staff in the late war and for many years was pension examiner in Washington. When Maj. Moore came to Buffalo and opened a pension office he immediately secured a large business and, it is said, received many favors in the pension bureau. During Commissioner Raum’s administration charges were preferred against Moore, but for some reason—said to be strong political influence brought to bear on the case by the major—the charges were dropped. When Commissioner Loehren took office he ordered a thorough investigation. Special Examiner Ayres has been in Buffalo six months conducting a secret examination, the result of which is Moore’s arrest

Albert Moore. Mary Hanrahan and Matilda Stock, clerks in Moore’s office, were also arrested by Marshal Watts. They are charged with having made, altered, forged and counterfeited pension vouchers and willingly assisted in doing the same. All were admitted to bail. Moore did the largest pension business in New York state, and is said to have secured since 1889 over 6,000 claims, of which at least 4,500 are fraudulent Examiner Ayres is authority for the statement that the estimated amount which Moore has fraudulently obtained for pensioners is about $1,000,009, and that already the government has found where $150,000 has been fraudulently obtained for pensioners by him. Other arrests will follow early in the week, as a large number of warrants are put Several prominent attorneys are said to be implicated with Moore and interesting de-, velopments are looked for.