HARDY, Ark.—Wayne Watkins came to north Arkansas with $2.6 million in loans and a promise of turning a small town into “the next Branson.”

Now, those who had agreements to purchase lots in the Spring River Beach Club in Hardy have been left with nothing.

Watkins collected down payments from buyers and had them sign installment land sales contracts. Those agreements let him automatically withdraw monthly payments from their bank accounts. But when Watkins defaulted on his loans, he and the thousands of dollars he had taken from each of them disappeared, along with any legal claim the buyers had to the land.

Several buyers said Watkins’ salesmen led them to believe that Watkins owned the property outright, and in at least one case, actively discouraged a buyer from doing title searches that would have revealed complications.

Ash Flat attorney and District Judge Mark Johnson has talked with many who signed the agreements with Watkins, who reportedly left for Mexico.