Woman $100,000 Poorer After Psychic Scam

Hillary Howard, WTOP Radio CHEVY CHASE, Md. -- There are always people looking for answers, and there are always people looking to scam them. That's why a Poolesville woman is 'out' a $100,000 and three Chevy Chase residents are under arrest. It all started about a year ago, when the victim met a psychic at the Lake Forest Mall. After several appointments, the psychic told the 56-year-old victim her family was cursed. "A curse that was centuries old and she would have to go through a cleansing ritual to be rid of that curse," police spokesperson Lucille Baur said. "She had to cash in savings and bring that currency in for that cleansing ritual." The cleansing ritual cleaned out her savings and that's when she went to police. Baur says the three Chevy Chase residents charged with the crime have also been charged with buying a car with the victim's money, but not letting her drive it until the 'curse' was lifted. The victim now has the new Mercedes back, and police are trying to recover her money. Fortune-telling is illegal in Montgomery County. (Copyright 2006 by WTOP Radio. All Rights Reserved.)

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