> Wouldn't Hermans have to tell someone that he lost the money?
> [...] I don't know why you're having trouble with how I worded
> my post, it seems perfectly understandable to me.

I just think that even if we believe and agree an unconfirmed or unverified story is real, true or even both, it's always better to word it as reported speech and otherwise stick to what we really know, i.e. that this is what happened according to Dickinson. There's no public record by Hermans or Archer, at least that I know of.

> do you doubt that the story is real, or true?

From my perspective, the story may very well be both real and true :-)

> the money was [...] for the benefit of A-Eon Belgium

Has this purpose been confirmed? As I understand it, the money was lent to Hermans personally, likely for the benefit of Hyperion.