Over the course of the next few months, Hotton led the Producers to believe that he had secured $4.5 million from four overseas investors: "Paul Abrams," of Hawthorne, East Victoria; "Roger Thomas," of St. Peter Port, Guernsey; "Julian Spencer," of Crocker Hill, Chichester, Sussex; and "Walte
fees and commissions between March and June 2012. In April 2012, Hotton also demanded and was paid an additional $18,000 "advance" against his 8 percent commission, claiming that he needed the money to cover the costs of a purported safari he had taken with "Paul Abrams," and Abrams' eldest son.
When the Producers began pressing for the Hotton Investors to wire the money they had promised to send by July 31, 2012, Hotton orchestrated the false illness, hospitalization, and untimely "death" of one of the main Hotton Investors, "Paul Abrams." Hotton then fabricated correspondence with
