Pennsylvania woman faces life sentence for Fortune Telling...

[22*43*51]

HARRISBURG, Pa. (Reuters) - A Pennsylvania woman went on trial on Monday for the rarely prosecuted offense of fortune-telling, accused of persuading a client she could lift a cloud of "spells and curses" in exchange for payments that likely reached thousands of dollars.

April Uwanawich, 38, of Philadelphia faces 55 counts of fortune telling, theft by unlawful taking and theft by deception in the Chester County Court of Common Pleas.

She is accused of approaching Jennifer Gardiner in 2009 at a convenience store, where she identified herself as a fortune teller and said she could rid Gardiner of her "dark cloud," according to a police complaint.

During the following two years, Gardiner met with Uwanawich on a regular basis, "continually paying Uwanawich to work on her life, to rid it of evil and to get rid of spells and curses,” the complaint read.

Gardiner was persuaded to stop taking prescribed mental health medication and to buy candles, oils, perfumes and crystals to help ward off evil spirits, it said.

Her financial loss probably ran into “tens of thousands of dollars” but only about $10,000 could be verified, the complaint said.

Uwanawich has two previous arrests for fortune-telling fraud in Chester County, according to court records.

She pleaded guilty in 2009 to stealing $23,000 from a woman to remove a curse and in 2011 to taking $35,000 from another woman to remove a dark cloud over her head.

She was ordered to pay court costs in the first case and received two years of probation in the second, records showed.

Uwanawich faces a cumulative life sentence if convicted of all 55 counts and sentenced to the maximum on each. The state's fortune-telling statute bans fortune-telling for money as well as the use of "spells, charms, necromancy or incantation" in the perpetration of fraud.

The Daily Local News of West Chester reported that Uwanawich may have more fortune-telling arrests than anyone else in the state in the 21st century.

The newspaper cited legal research saying fortune-telling was so rarely prosecuted that the state's appellate courts have never ruled on an appeal.

http://news.yahoo.com/pennsylvania-woman-goes-trial-fortune-telling-charges-194001880.html

 

[Hy_dro]

HARRISBURG, Pa. (Reuters) - A Pennsylvania woman went on trial on Monday for the rarely prosecuted offense of fortune-telling, accused of persuading a client she could lift a cloud of "spells and curses" in exchange for payments that likely reached thousands of dollars.

April Uwanawich, 38, of Philadelphia faces 55 counts of fortune telling, theft by unlawful taking and theft by deception in the Chester County Court of Common Pleas.

She is accused of approaching Jennifer Gardiner in 2009 at a convenience store, where she identified herself as a fortune teller and said she could rid Gardiner of her "dark cloud," according to a police complaint.

During the following two years, Gardiner met with Uwanawich on a regular basis, "continually paying Uwanawich to work on her life, to rid it of evil and to get rid of spells and curses,” the complaint read.

Gardiner was persuaded to stop taking prescribed mental health medication and to buy candles, oils, perfumes and crystals to help ward off evil spirits, it said.

Her financial loss probably ran into “tens of thousands of dollars” but only about $10,000 could be verified, the complaint said.

Uwanawich has two previous arrests for fortune-telling fraud in Chester County, according to court records.

She pleaded guilty in 2009 to stealing $23,000 from a woman to remove a curse and in 2011 to taking $35,000 from another woman to remove a dark cloud over her head.

She was ordered to pay court costs in the first case and received two years of probation in the second, records showed.

Uwanawich faces a cumulative life sentence if convicted of all 55 counts and sentenced to the maximum on each. The state's fortune-telling statute bans fortune-telling for money as well as the use of "spells, charms, necromancy or incantation" in the perpetration of fraud.

The Daily Local News of West Chester reported that Uwanawich may have more fortune-telling arrests than anyone else in the state in the 21st century.

The newspaper cited legal research saying fortune-telling was so rarely prosecuted that the state's appellate courts have never ruled on an appeal.

http://news.yahoo.com/pennsylvania-woman-goes-trial-fortune-telling-charges-194001880.html

Seems a bit harsh when we allow casinos to portray similar results: get rich, get lucky, blah blah.

 

[fredjr82]

It's funny that this fortune teller was arrested because she was feeding people a line of bullshit in exchange for money. Yet somehow organized religion still gets a free pass. What's the threshold for "miracles" to become fraudulent? Could she classify her practice as a religion?

 

[ottumwan in tx]

we have got a ton of these folks here In austin who do this, apparently the folks in mexico really believe in it

 

[naturalmwa]

 

[at4iowa]

While I find fortune tellers to be complete frauds and their craft to be worthless, where is the crime here? Some stupid person is willingly giving her money to this woman. If the woman is dumb enough to believe in spirits and clouds of doom, then she probably would have lost her money anyway. Unless the woman was mentally ill or has a very low IQ, I don't see a problem. If the "victim" was a special needs person in some way, then the fortune teller should be jailed.

The point raised above regarding religion is a good one. It may be time to start jailing preachers for bilking their congregations for cash. It is really no different. Instead, our government gives them tax breaks. Someone explain the difference to me.

 

[INXS83]

While I find fortune tellers to be complete frauds and their craft to be worthless, where is the crime here? Some stupid person is willingly giving her money to this woman. If the woman is dumb enough to believe in spirits and clouds of doom, then she probably would have lost her money anyway. Unless the woman was mentally ill or has a very low IQ, I don't see a problem. If the "victim" was a special needs person in some way, then the fortune teller should be jailed.

The point raised above regarding religion is a good one. It may be time to start jailing preachers for bilking their congregations for cash. It is really no different. Instead, our government gives them tax breaks. Someone explain the difference to me.

The crime is convincing people to quit taking their legal doctor prescribed medications and taking unapproved 'remedies' instead.

The possible severity of the sentence, if convicted, does seem extremely excessive.

 

[at4iowa]

The crime is convincing people to quit taking their legal doctor prescribed medications and taking unapproved 'remedies' instead.

The possible severity of the sentence, if convicted, does seem extremely excessive.

So, can we put GNC and chiropractors in jail, too? Let's get this ball rollin', baby!

 

[INXS83]

So, can we put GNC and chiropractors in jail, too? Let's get this ball rollin', baby!

If people decide to quit taking doctor prescribed meds and replace them with GNC and Ginkgo, that's on them as long as they are not influenced by a 'fortune teller' with no medical degree or license to practice medicine in that state.

Chiropractors are licensed to prescribe meds, so that's just a case of an individual changing care providers. In some cases, that will void their health insurance, if they had any.

 

[naturalmwa]

If people decide to quit taking doctor prescribed meds and replace them with GNC and Ginkgo, that's on them as long as they are not influenced by a 'fortune teller' with no medical degree or license to practice medicine in that state.

Chiropractors are licensed to prescribe meds, so that's just a case of an individual changing care providers. In some cases, that will void their health insurance, if they had any.

Think this through a bit more.

 

[TexMichFan]

Obviously she must be a fraud or she would have been able to see that she was going to get caught.