In December 1914 a man named Frank Dalton, the chief steward of the steamer Alinga, made the acquaintance of Bennett and Angus Murray who were able to induce him to invest £300 in a proposed vaudeville theatre at Manly. The money was deposited in a bank in Sydney, and shortly afterwards the two men disappeared, together with the money. In February 1915 detectives arrested Bennett and Murray in Melbourne and charged them "with having conspired to defraud Dalton of the money".Theatre Venture, Sydney Morning Herald, 20 February 1915, page 16.Daring Fraud, Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga), 3 March 1915, page 2. Murray and Bennett were tried in the Central Criminal Court in Sydney on May 25 and found guilty of conspiracy to defraud Dalton.Criminal Court, Sydney Morning Herald, 26 May 1915, page 8. Bennett was sentenced to twelve months' hard labour and Murray sentenced to two years' hard labour, but an appeal was lodged against their convictions the next day.
