He scammed nearly 80,000 desperate people, promising them part of a $22 billion fortune. This is the story of Oscar Hartzell, the master manipulator who built a criminal empire on a 300-year-old myth.

Sources (select):

1. Drake's Fortune by Richard Rayner - https://www.randomhousebooks.com/books/139488/

2. Sample text for Library of Congress - 2001052981https://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/samples/random045/2001052981.html

3. The Estate of Sir Francis Drake | RealClearHistory - https://www.realclearhistory.com/articles/2024/03/29/the_estate_of_sir_francis_drake_1021848.html

4. HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF IOWA 1882-2020 - https://www.iand.uscourts.gov/sites/iand/files/Ihistoryproject.pdf

5. Hartzell v. United States, 72 F.2d 569 (8th Cir. 1934) - https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/72/569/1549626/

6. 10 Jan 1934 - DRAKE ESTATE FRAUD - https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/173631335

7. Sir Francis Drake | Biography - https://www.britannica.com/biography/Francis-Drake

8. Library of Congress - https://www.loc.gov/newspapers/?q=oscar+hartzell