State v. Heneault

In this case we must decide whether the defendant’s modified “circle of gold” chain letter scheme constitutes a sale of securities for the purposes of RSA ch. 421. We hold that it does not.

Sometime in the spring of 1979, the defendant became involved with “circle of gold” chain letters. To buy a letter, each purchaser paid fifty dollars to a seller and fifty dollars to the person whose name was first on a list in the letter. The purchaser then crossed the first name off the list, added his name to the bottom, and made a copy of the letter. He then would try to sell the two letters to others…