Oscar Hartzell: The Drake Legacy Scam

In 1919, Hartzell contacted many Iowans who had the surname Drake.

He claimed he was a distant relative and had discovered that the estate of Tudor adventurer Sir Francis Drake had never been paid to his heirs, that it had gathered interest for the last 300 years and was now worth $100 billion!

Hartzell invited all these families to invest in his campaign to sue the British government for the money. Tens of thousands of Americans sponsored him—sometimes with all the money they had.

Around 1924, Hartzell proceeded to move to London to live in an opulent lifestyle. He told the families who had invested in the "campaign" that he was negotiating with the British government and needed even more money for expenses. His agents in the Midwest— some of whom believed in the scheme themselves—collected the money.

On 9th August, 1922, the British Home Office informed the American embassy that there was no unclaimed Sir Francis Drake estate.

The FBI investigated and announced that Drake's wife had duly inherited his estate in 1597. That information did not stop the donations.

Eventually Britain deported Hartzell to USA and he was sent to Iowa for trial in 1933.

Hartzell was convicted of fraud in 1934, and sentenced to ten years in prison – dying there in 1943. Many of his victims—approximately 70,000–100,000 people—believed in him to the end of their own lives.

Further reading

• The Hoax of Oscar Merrill Hartzell - World History
• The 20th-Century Con Man Who Made Millions Off Sir Francis Drake - Knowledge Nuts