BOGUS ESTATES.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 53, Issue 151, 7 April 1933, Page 2

BOGUS ESTATES.

AMERICANS EXPLOITED. LARGE SUMS COLLECTED. Efforts made by the .British and American authorities to stop the exploitation of United States citizens by people working from England are closely connected with a deportation order made recently by the Home Secretary for immediate effect against an undesirable alien. Information collected by the American authorities reveals that considerable sums of money have been collected from people in the United States, mostly in the Midde West, on a pretext of financing an agent to prosecute claims to mythical estates in England supposed to have been left years ago by people sometimes well known in history. The bait offered has been as high as £I4OO to four shillings subscribed—when the claim succeeds. One man and bis agents have been collecting funds for the prosecution of the claims to the so-called Sir Francis Drake estate. It was stated at the United States Consulate-General in London, that thousands of letters concerning this, estate had been received from inquirers in the United States for the past- 50 years or more. The reply had always been that no record could be found of such an estate. “The Drake title is extinct and no trace can be found of a fortune handed down from his estate,” declared the official. While funds have apparently been collected in almost every State, the activities have been principally in the Middle West, lowa, South Dakota, and Texas appear to have been the largest contributors. Mass meetings have been held in towns, and villages and popular appeal has been made to the inhabitants. The Consulate-General has made every effort to warn people in the United States against contributing funds.