Psychic jailed for swindling clients
Published: 2013 October 13 09:08:49 (4915 Views)
Greenwich Village psychic Sylvia Mitchell was convicted Friday of swindling two desperate women out of nearly $140,000 by luring them with tall tales and bogus claims she could combat bad spirits.
Mitchell, 39, who was free without bail during her trial, was immediately handcuffed and jailed by a Manhattan judge who said he thought she was a flight risk.
Her sentencing was scheduled for Oct. 29.
Mitchell was convicted by a jury of multiple counts of grand larceny and a single count of scheme to defraud for ripping off the victims between 2007 and 2009.
She faces up to 15 years in prison on the top count alone.
The Zena Clairvoyant psychic, who works out of a Seventh Avenue South shop, told Debra Saalfield, a professional dancer, that she "was once an Egyptian princess and that I was part of a ruling city… but that I had a problem with attachment to money," the victim testified.
And Lee Choong, who gave Mitchell over $100,000, was promised by Mitchell relief from her love life woes and the "negative" vibes in her life.
One female juror, who declined to give her name, spoke briefly but declined to give her name because of Mitchell's eerie courtroom demeanor.
"She'll put a hex on me!" the juror said, adding Mitchell was "staring way too much" during the trial.
She said Mitchell clearly "preyed on [people's] vulnerabilities" for a hefty profit.
Mitchell's attorney, William Aronwald, argued at trial there was no proof she didn't perform services for her customers. He plans to appeal.
- NYDN
Mitchell, 39, who was free without bail during her trial, was immediately handcuffed and jailed by a Manhattan judge who said he thought she was a flight risk.
Her sentencing was scheduled for Oct. 29.
Mitchell was convicted by a jury of multiple counts of grand larceny and a single count of scheme to defraud for ripping off the victims between 2007 and 2009.
She faces up to 15 years in prison on the top count alone.
The Zena Clairvoyant psychic, who works out of a Seventh Avenue South shop, told Debra Saalfield, a professional dancer, that she "was once an Egyptian princess and that I was part of a ruling city… but that I had a problem with attachment to money," the victim testified.
And Lee Choong, who gave Mitchell over $100,000, was promised by Mitchell relief from her love life woes and the "negative" vibes in her life.
One female juror, who declined to give her name, spoke briefly but declined to give her name because of Mitchell's eerie courtroom demeanor.
"She'll put a hex on me!" the juror said, adding Mitchell was "staring way too much" during the trial.
She said Mitchell clearly "preyed on [people's] vulnerabilities" for a hefty profit.
Mitchell's attorney, William Aronwald, argued at trial there was no proof she didn't perform services for her customers. He plans to appeal.
- NYDN
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