“Psychic” Arrested After Duping Lovesick Man Out of $700,000

Every time we post about psychics, there’s inevitably a reader who wonders why we make such a big deal about it. It’s just entertainment. No one takes it seriously. Why treat it like such a horrible thing?

Because psychics know damn well they have no power, yet their consciences allow them to take money from gullible, desperate people.

Like an unnamed Brooklyn man whose girlfriend died a couple of years ago. He was distraught and went to psychic Cristina Alvarez (real name: Pricilla Delmaro) for help. She charged him $2,500 at the time. When he willingly gave her the money, she knew she could extract more.

Ultimately, she cheated him out of $700,000. The reason we know this is because she just got caught:

Delmaro, 24, and her partner and husband, Bobby Evans, 25, were arrested Tuesday [of last week] and charged with second-degree grand larceny. They were each being held on $250,000 bail.

…

… the well-to-do marketing executive [who saw her for help] became suspicious of the fortune teller, and did some research that led him to a private investigator, Bob Nygaard, who specializes in psychic scams.

“He started seeing someone new, and the psychic began concocting new problems,” Nygaard said. “He started noticing some discrepancies.”

I hope he gets his money back.

Here’s another question, though: What’s the difference between Delmaro, who did this secretly, and someone like John Edward, who might make that much from all the depressed people paying him $850 apiece for private readings? Is it because he’s out in the open and there’s a disclaimer on his website? Is it because he always pretends to have a special power?

It’s the same game.

The only difference seems to be that people like Edward acquire their money from lots of people giving him smaller amounts, while Delmaro targeted a single individual.

(Image via Shutterstock)