Janet Adams, a self-described psychic, was arrested for bilking an 85-year-old woman out of $80,330. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Adams told the victim “that her husband would die of a heart attack if she didn’t immediately pay $13,000 for ‘special prayers,’ the prosecutor said.”
On subsequent visits, the purported psychic extracted more and more money from the elderly victim, until her (still-healthy) husband noticed the odd transactions.
The Chronicle explains that:
Adams has victimized numerous women in San Mateo County in the past and was sent to state prison in 2004 for two years on a theft conviction, authorities said. At that time, Adams worked as a palm reader at the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival.
My crystal ball tells me that the victim, who visited Adams the first time “on a lark,” has learned her lesson. Hopefully Adams will learn hers, too.
The photograph of Adams is from the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department, via the Chronicle.