For nearly a year, prosecutors in Pennsylvania said, a man and woman selling their services as psychics had convinced one woman to keep paying them to lift a curse that kept her from being happy.
Using deceitful tactics, the authorities said, the two got the woman to give them about $596,000 in cash and property. They also took luxury items from her and another client, including concert tickets, Airbnb reservations, clothes and gift cards. Their earnings added up to more than $600,000, the authorities said.
On Oct. 9, the two soothsayers, Steve Nicklas, 40, of Jenkintown, Pa., and Gina Marie Marks, 52, of Huntingdon Valley, Pa., were arrested on various charges, including corrupt organization, conspiracy, theft by taking and fortunetelling, which is a crime in Pennsylvania, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office.
It was unclear if either had lawyers but both had posted bail, according to court records.
The two had persuaded clients that they had been cursed and that they could help them shed their jinxes if they paid, according to the authorities.
The main target of the scheme, the woman who was convinced that she was cursed, was a longtime customer of a shop offering psychic readings and other fortune readings, Jenkintown Psychic Visions, Detective Jonathan Kelcy, an investigator for the prosecutor’s office, said in a criminal complaint filed in criminal court in Montgomery County, Pa.
When that client, who is not named in court records, called the business in September 2022, Ms. Marks answered the phone and identified herself as Naomi, stating that she had taken over the business from the previous owner and offering to give a reading over the phone, the investigator said. She used tarot cards and “various alleged ritual practices,” the investigator said.
The investigator said that Ms. Marks had preyed on the caller’s “love for another and desperate desire to remain married, to emotionally abuse her, to mentally weaken her, and to expertly steal her money.”
Ms. Marks told the client that a former friend and employee was working with a spiritual adviser and others to prevent her love and happiness by the use of “black magic,” the investigator said. She had been made to fear that the curse would destroy her marriage, business and family.
To lift the curse, Ms. Marks told the client that she needed to give her money and personal belongings to place in two altars as a representation of power, the investigator said, with the promise that they would be returned.
Ms. Marks also told the client that to handle such an involved case she needed to bring in her “partner,” whom she identified as Stephan but was really Mr. Nicklas, the investigator said.
The client spoke with Ms. Marks several times, consulting her about issues in her daily life. The two even swapped photos of themselves and their families, the investigator said.
Another client, a woman who was also not identified, had reached out online in September 2022 to a “Naomi Nicklas,” whom the authorities said was Ms. Marks. After an initial phone consultation that cost $300, Ms. Marks convinced her to wire $2,000 to Mr. Nicklas, the investigator said.
Ms. Marks had that client send photos of herself, family, and other people in her life. She then threatened her with “reputational damage” and “personal repercussions” if her instructions were not followed, the investigator said.
The investigator said Ms. Marks continued to ask for more photos “that were increasingly personal and further unorthodox requests were made to satisfy rituals that would help her.”
Ms. Marks demanded money, a Chanel bag and property from the second client valued around $18,000, the investigator said.
When the second client started to ask for her money and property back around July 2023, she was threatened by Ms. Marks, the investigator said, though she eventually returned the Chanel bag and $2,000.
A Yelp review from April 2024 for Jenkintown Psychic Visions has a customer complaining about being asked to give a woman named Naomi a Chanel bag. “She knew I was in a dark place because of a traumatic situation in my life and took my weakness and ran with it,” the reviewer wrote.
The two clients in Pennsylvania weren’t Ms. Marks’ first disgruntled clients.
Ms. Marks was convicted of theft in connection to a scheme in Maryland in 2018 and third-degree grand theft in Florida in 2009, according to court records. The Maryland and Florida convictions were related to fortunetelling schemes, according to The Washington Post. She appears to have been associated with other schemes through the years, often under an alias, and her reputation had garnered her a small Wikipedia page.
Kirsten Noyes contributed research.
Rylee Kirk reports on breaking news, trending topics and major developing stories for The Times.
The post 2 Pennsylvania Psychics Stole Over $600,000 to Remove Curses, Prosecutors Say appeared first on New York Times.
