Kansas City, Mo. ? A former Kansas City man was indicted Wednesday on charges he defrauded investors by leading them to believe they were investing in a company associated with the syndicated “Baywatch” television series, U.S. Atty. Todd Graves said.

David William Port, 49, now of Great Britain, allegedly defrauded investors in England, New York, California and Utah of nearly $360,000 between October 1998 and October 2000.

In the scheme, investors in the company — PCG Media — were told it would produce high returns because it had worldwide syndication rights to “Baywatch,” Graves said. Victims were allegedly told “Baywatch” star David Hasselhoff invested in the company and that restaurants themed after the beach drama would be taking over for the Planet Hollywood franchise, Graves said.

The indictment says Port falsely told investors the company was publicly held and traded and had prominent merchandising clients, including Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Philip Morris and the U.K. Lottery.

None of the claims were true.

Port also allegedly misrepresented the company as financially sound and falsified a merger with the Home Gambling Network in order to convince investors to send more money, promising he would later repay the funds, Graves said.

The indictment also said Port failed to tell investors he was convicted of obtaining property by deception in the United Kingdom in 1994. Port was sentenced to three years in prison for the conviction.