Psychic and Fortune
Teller Scams
'Psychic' charged with grand theft
Woman accused of taking $30,000 with promise to rid cash and client of curse
10/08/09 - HOLLYWOOD - A self-proclaimed psychic on probation after pleading guilty to fraud charges earlier this year has been arrested again, once more accused of promising to lift a curse from a client's money.
Gina Marie Marks, 36, of Hollywood, was arrested today and charged with grand theft. Marks is accused of taking more than $30,000 from a client in 2007. She was held in the Broward main jail, with bail set at $5,000.
Bob Nygaard, a Boca Raton-based private investigator hired by Marks' client, said Marks told the client that an ex-boyfriend's new lover had placed a curse on the client. One way to lift the curse was to withdraw cash and hand it to Marks to be cleansed, Marks said, according to Nygaard.
Once cleansed, the cash was to be returned, Nygaard said. That never happened, he said.
Marks faced similar accusations earlier this year year. Five clients, all from Broward County, handed Marks a total of $65,000 to rid the money of demons, officials said.
Marks was arrested in January and convicted of fraud charges in May. She was sentenced to 18 months on probation and ordered to repay the money, said Nygaard, who represented the five clients.
Marks wasn't charged with violating her probation because the most recent alleged crime - involving a Broward client who no longer lives in Florida, Nygaard said - took place before Marks was sentenced.
Marks lives in Hollywood and operated her psychic business there and in Weston. She published a book called Miami Psychic - Confessions of a Confidante in 2006 under the name Regina Milbourne. She also has used the alias Zara Margazio, an arrest report states.
Copyright © 2009, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
10/08/09 -
Gina Marks Busted Again
Posted by CareyCodd
The well-known psychic, Gina Marks, is back in the Broward County Jail this afternoon.
We wrote about Marks late last year after five Broward women claimed Marks stole $65,000 from them in a bizarre case that involved "cleansing" the money to rid the women of evil spirits and curses.
Marks eventually repaid the money and is serving 18 months on probation. SEE THE CBS4 STORY HERE
But now Marks faces a new charge of grand theft.
According to private investigator Bob Nygaard -- who built this most recent case against Marks -- a Broward woman enlisted the services of Marks in 2007. Nygaard said Marks was using the name "Psychic Zara." The woman wanted help with relationship problems and Marks promised to help.
Nygaard said Marks performed a series of rituals and said she needed to clean the woman's money to lift a curse and evil spirits that surrounded the woman and her family.
The woman paid Marks more than $30,000.
Marks' attorney Jim Lewis told me Marks is offering to pay back the cash.
Also, since this incident happened in 2007 it pre-dates the arrest from 2008. That means it will not be seen as a violation of Marks' probation.
I've been writing for a long while about the exploits about Gina Marie Marks, AKA Regina Milbourne, author of the sham book Miami Psychic and veteran Gypsy con artist. I first exposed her on this here blog a little while back.
Well, this morning she appeared before Circuit Judge Cynthia Imperato and pleaded guilty to a felony fraud count and agreed to pay back $65,000 to several victims. She was sentenced to probation.
I received the following from private investigator Bob Nygaard yesterday. He's the man who built the case and filed the complaint with the State Attorney's Office.
"This is Bob Nygaard the Private Investigator from Boca Raton that investigated and built the Organized Scheme to Defraud Case against Gina Marie Marks on behalf of the 5 women who were victimized in Broward County last year. I just wanted to give you an update.
Based on the quality and strength of my investigation and the pressure that was exerted on the Broward State Attorney's Office by your excellent coverage of the crime, Gina Marie Marks has decided to change her plea from Not Guilty to Guilty.
She will be pleading guilty to a felony, will receive probation, and will be paying back all the victims every single cent that she stole from them. I think that this is an excellent resolution to this case given the fact that although she has been implicated in defrauding numerous people she has never previously been convicted of a crime.
The victims will be receiving all of their money back AND Gina will finally be admitting that she has been engaged in a fraudulent fortunetelling scheme, on the record, in front of a judge. In addition if she violates her probation by engaging in any future crimes, she will run the risk of going to prison.
Ah, I love the smell of justice in the morning, yet it's bittersweet, as there are a lot of other beaten and broken people who lost huge amounts of money to this woman who will likely never see a cent of it back."
By Bob Norman - May. 8 2009
Psychic Fortune Teller Scams
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