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Crime spree shows psychics can get away with almost anything
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Gina Marie Marks, alias Regina Milbourne, alias Zara Margazio
Psychic Gina Marie Marks was arrested again this week, for theft of cash from her clients in Hollywood, Florida. Her ongoing crime spree shows just how far someone has to go to serve jail time if they claim they are psychic.
In the 1990’s, when Ms. Marks first claimed to be a medium with psychic powers, and then charged for her fraudulent services, she was not in any legal trouble. Psychics are seldom prosecuted, no matter how shameless are their tricks.
In January of 2000, however, Marks went further. She told a victim that the victim’s money was cursed and Marks could spiritually “cleanse” the cash. She had the victim bring her $75,000 in cash in a pillowcase, so that Marks could take it to a “secret shrine” for cleansing. Marks then refused to return the money. Another victim received the same treatment and lost $35,000 to Marks.
Strangely, Ms. Marks was still in no serious legal trouble. Although the police investigated, a district attorney declined to press charges as long as Marks returned the money. Marks was able to repeat the scam several times without consequences before she was tried and convicted in May of this year for taking $30,000 from a woman in Florida using the same scam.
Incredibly, she still did no jail time. Despite the fact that five other people had given Marks a total of $65,000, Marks received 18 months probation and a requirement that she repay the money. And of course, this week, she was arrested again.
Perhaps the most amazing thing about these scams is her absolute contempt for her clients as she takes their money. One client called Ms. Marks to beg that she return some of the money, because the client had no money for food. Ms. Marks, ever the caregiver, responded, “Eat dog food then.”
It is too easy to blame the victims in these cases. While it is true that there is a critical thinking shortage in the world today, psychics target those who are emotionally vulnerable: those who have lost loved ones or who have some other emotional crisis. If our legal system can not deal with someone as transparently fraudulent as Gina Marie Marks (alias Regina Milbourne, alias Zara Margazio), it is time to quit pretending that psychic fraud is not a serious problem.
For more info: Fortune telling should not be protected free speech, Psychic brags about 18-year-old failure in Jaycee Dugard kidnapping reading
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