A fortune teller and her accomplice were sentenced to 30 and 38 months in prison for defrauding a woman out of more than three million dollars. Samantha Stevens and Michael Guzman were found guilty of fortune-telling fraud and money laundering.
Stevens met the victim in 2012 and claimed to be a psychic. She told the victim that a curse had been placed on her family, and she needed large sums of money to conduct cleansing rituals, all of which would free her family from the curse. Failure to provide Stevens with cash would harm the victim and her family. You can’t make this stuff up!
Stevens and Guzman spent the victim’s money on cars, property, and casino gambling. The relationship between Stevens and the victim lasted for more than three years until the victim ran out of money, and Stevens cut off all communication. It was then that the victim reached out to law enforcement.
In court, Stevens claimed that the ceremonies she performed were part of her religion, and the victim got exactly what she bargained for. In addition, on to prison, senpreciselylythe defendants must pay $3.198 million in restitution to the victim.
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