Psychic Scams Woman Out Of $136,000
Self proclaimed “psychic” Peaches Stevens has allegedly scammed a Florida woman out of a grand total of $136,000 over the span of seven years.
Stevens was thrown into an Orange County, Florida jail on January 11 after a long-time victim came forward in an attempt to get justice.
The victim, who was identified as Priti Mahalanobis in an interview with Anderson Cooper last fall, claims that she became aware of a number of warning signs that suggested that Stevens was a fraud. Mahalanobis says that Stevens told her to stuff 11 $100 bills and 11 names of relatives on a piece of paper in an envelope under her bed, along with a grapefruit, to supposedly stop evil that Stevens said was wreaking havoc on Mahalanobis’s family.
Then, Mahalanobis says, Stevens had her buy seven tabernacles at $19,000 each — from Stevens herself — to “vanquish the negativity, curses and evil spirits that plagued her family,” according to the Orlando Sentinel.
“Thousands of people get defrauded of millions of dollars each year,” Mahalanobis wrote on her Facebook wall last fall. “I want to put an end to this so that nobody else will be victimized by these ruthless con artists again.”
Mahalanobis is a college-educated business owner and mother of two. Mahalanobis told the Orlando Sentinel that her company was in trouble, her family was having internal problems and she wasn’t feeling well when she got a letter in the mail from Stevens, who apparently used the opportunity to prey on Mahalanobis’ vulnerability.
So how does one know if they are the victim of a scam? The Huffington Post tracked down a self proclaimed psychic to weigh in on the situation.
“Grapefruits? Evil spirits in money? It’s bull crap,” professional medium Tiffany Johnson, a.k.a. Psychic Tiff, told The Huffington Post. “Whenever any lame-ass psychic wants additional funds — ‘I’ll remove a curse for $5,000, for example’ — bells, whistles and red flags should be going off. A real psychic wants to give you tools so that you can make your own life better. They shouldn’t want you to buy anything externally, especially from the psychic.”
According to WKMG-Local 6 News, Stevens is free on a $22,000 bond, but is barred from telling fortunes until the case is completed.
Here are a few more tips that The Huffington Post has provided with the assistance Psychic Tiff to help you avoid getting scammed.
-Use your common sense. If it involves money and it seems fishy, it probably is. If it seems like a mail-order scheme, it probably is.
- Beware of mind readers who prey on fear, and look for psychics who are positive and guide you on how to empower yourself.
- Finally, find a psychic with whom you could see yourself being friends with. If they scare you, annoy you or take ridiculous amounts of money from you, they’re probably not going to help you.
Source: Huffington Post
