Woman loses $20K in psychic scam, believed money needed to be blessed

WISN 12 ABC News, Wisconsin/September 22, 2014

By  Nick Bohr

Milwaukee -- An area woman is out $20,000 after falling for an elaborate psychic reading scam.

The victim became convinced if she didn't pay up bad things would happen to her family.

Police believe a drifter set up a scam inside a south side Milwaukee house for a few weeks this summer.

A criminal complaint detailed a woman's story, who set up a meeting at the house.

There are new tenants now, but the victim told police as tarot cards were arrayed on a table in July, the self-proclaimed psychic, 38-year-old Agueda Floris, told her she had an illness because "someone put a bad spell on her, and someone paid a lot of money to put this spell on her."

The victim was told to come back the next day with $400, 20 candles a tomato and a T-shirt.

According to the search warrant in the case, the woman was so concerned about her so-called illness, she agreed to return the next day, and that's when police said the con kicked into high gear.

The victim told police the psychic placed the tomato in a T-shirt and "rubbed it all over the victim's body in the form of a cross." The victim said she "observed a small hairy animal in the shape of a mouse inside the tomato."

She said Floris "jumped back from the table and began shouting 'Oh my God, look what you had in you.'"

The psychic convinced her she needed to withdraw all her money from the bank to be blessed.

The suspect's daughter went with her to the downtown Chase bank branch, where the victim withdrew $20,000 from her bank account.

Back at the house, she said Floris blessed the money but then said if she needed to leave it at the house overnight or "a bad spell would happen to her and her family."

When she went back to the house the next day, Floris was gone and hasn't been seen since.

It's still not clear how many victims fell into the trap.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Floris. She is charged with felony theft. However, police don't believe she's been in Milwaukee since the day after taking the $20,000 in July.

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