This episode contains just over an hour’s audio from the six-hour deposition of Cleal Watts III (CV No. 13-2578) in the Western District of Tennessee in August 2015. Watts told investors he was an experienced importer of gold dust, that he owned a refinery in Dallas, Texas, and that their funds would be used to purchase and refine gold dust from Africa in order to generate substantial returns in the United States. When no returns came in, Watts would delay by telling investors grandiose stories about hijackings, theft, customs issues and storage challenges, enabling him to coerce more money out of them. In the end, Watts defrauded his clients out of $5.3 million, which he spent on himself. It took three years of litigation to get answers out of Watts–and even in this deposition, his answers are vague, circuitous, and redundant, often skirting the point.

Listen to the episode here.