Oscar Merril Hartzell (1876–1943) was an American con man who ran a confidence scam by claiming rightful ownership of the estate of Sir Francis Drake.
According to Hartzell, in 1915 he met con artists Sudie Whiteaker and Milo Lewis, who promised to turn his mother's $6,000 into $6 million by giving him a share of the held fortune of Sir Francis Drake.
He claimed he was a distant relative and had discovered that the estate of 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.
He continued to tell the families who had invested in the "campaign" that he was negotiating with the British government and needed even more money for expenses.
On August 9, 1922, the British Home Office informed the American embassy that there was no unclaimed Sir Francis Drake estate.
After the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and during the Great Depression, Hartzell's followers seemed to become even more desperate and continued to send him money.
Hartzell seized this as a proof of his claims and his agents in the USA spread copies of the article to his followers.
Eventually United States Postal Service inspector John Sparks, with help from the British police, seized some of Hartzell's agents and forced them to reveal the scam.