Psychic Suckered $17 Million Out of Heartbroken Clients

Here’s something Florida-based psychic Rose Marks perhaps didn’t see in her future: a ten-year prison sentence.

But maybe she should have. She was, after all, stealing a lot of money from unsuspecting clients. Rose Marks and eight members of her family were accused and convicted of bilking approximately $25 million out of her customers over the course of several years. The scam was as simple as it was wicked. Mentally manipulate vulnerable people, and convince them that the “temporary” surrender of large amounts of cash and jewels would serve as a sacrifice that would appease evil spirits and make them go away. Once the bad luck vanished, the cash and jewels would be returned.

That is, of course, unless you happen to “misplace” the sacrifices and never give anything back.

On this episode of Dirty Money, co-hosts Jon Small and Dan Bova speak with author Tori Tefler, who chronicled Marks’ crimes and the dastardly deeds of other female criminals in her book Confident Women. Tefler breaks down Marks’ scheme, explaining how and why she was able to convince so many people that she was the answer to their prayers rather than the beginning of their worst nightmares.

We just looked into our crystal ball…and see you really loving this episode. Thanks for listening!

Related: The Very Crazy Story of Crazy Eddie, the Electronics and Scamming Giant