Two playing Miami “fortune tellers” conned a gullible sufferer out of greater than $3 million by claiming her cash was “cursed” and must be “spiritually cleansed” by way of a particular therapeutic ritual. Much more extremely, the unnamed sufferer was a monetary advisor, in response to courtroom paperwork.
Crystal balls? Stevens advised the sufferer her household had been cursed due to its “soiled cash” and that her father was “trapped exterior the gates of heaven.” (Picture: Shutterstock)
Unbeknownst to the sufferer, the mysterious ceremony concerned quite a few high-stakes transactions on the Mandalay Bay On line casino in Las Vegas, which is a technique of “cleaning” cash.
This week, a federal decide sentenced Samantha Stevens, 51, and her husband, Michael Paul Guzman, 42, to 30 and 32 months, respectively, for cash laundering. The couple took a plea deal to swerve extra severe costs of wire fraud and conspiracy that got here with sentences of as much as 20 years.
‘Cross My Palm With $3.1M’
The courtroom heard that Stevens styled herself as a psychic medium and healer who was blessed with powers to take away curses affecting her purchasers’ private lives and relationships.
Stevens first met the sufferer in her “psychic sales space” round 15 years in the past, in response to courtroom paperwork, and he or she grew to become a consumer.
In or round September 2010, Stevens defined to the sufferer that each one her issues may very well be defined by a curse that had been positioned on her household as a result of its fortune was “soiled.”
Stevens additionally advised the sufferer her father’s soul was “trapped earlier than the gates of heaven.” This wasn’t as unhealthy because it sounded, she consoled, as a result of she might take away this obstacle to his salvation by cleaning extra of his soiled cash, in response to courtroom paperwork.
Nonetheless, she cautioned that failure to supply extra money would nearly actually lead to additional misfortune for her household.
In 2016, the sufferer knowledgeable Stevens that she had run out of money. What little she had left she wanted to take care of her ailing mom, she mentioned, per courtroom filings. At this level, Stevens broke off contact.
The sufferer later spoke to her lawyer, who contacted authorities. Stevens and Guzman have been indicted by a federal grand jury in December 2020.
‘Spiritual’ Rituals
Stevens argued in courtroom that the ceremonies have been an expression of her faith as an individual of Romani heritage, citing her First Modification rights.
US Justice of the Peace Decide Edwin Torres was not shopping for it. The First Modification is just not a protect in opposition to committing against the law, and there have been “lots options for Stevens to observe her faith with out participating in a scheme to defraud,” he added, as reported by Miami New Instances.
Guzman, who additionally types himself as a “psychic professional” on Instagram, acquired a barely longer sentence than his spouse due to his rap sheet, which incorporates battery and drug offenses.
The pair have been additionally ordered to pay $3.2 million in restitution to the sufferer.
