A fortune teller in Miami is facing some serious charges and prison time,
federal prison time after she and her partner swindled millions from one victim.
Now before we look at the charges, let's look at the details of this scam.
Samantha Stephens, a self-professed spiritual consultant,
told the Miami client that she knew how to track down relatives in the afterlife and
would open the gates of heaven for the client's deceased father,
whose soul was apparently trapped.
She further pledged to lift a curse that was the source of pain and
misfortune suffered by the client's family, federal prosecutors say.
Look at federal prosecutors doing some prosecuting here.
Now, all of that did come with a pretty steep price for
the client to the tune of $3.2 million.
Over a three-year period, the client paid nearly 3.2 million to
Stevens in reliance on her supernatural promises.
Stevens allegedly warned the victim that if she did not pay
up the curse would persist.
Failure to do so, the victim was led to believe, would result in harm to her and
her family.
So, they used the money that they swindled for a pretty good life.
Stevens and Guzman, I guess that's her partner, spent the victim's money on,
of course, vehicles, property and casino gambling, officials said.
>> Really, I thought they were gonna use it to break the curse.
>> Yeah. When the victim ran out of money though,
guess what they did.
>> Go slow.
>> Of course, yeah.
>> Okay, which is kind of appropriate for a psychic.
>> Yeah.
Okay, so look, I just want to have a better understanding
about when federal prosecutors decide to go after psychic.
So, in this case, we're talking about a giant sum of money, $3.2 million.
But what the psychic in this case was selling is similar to what other psychics
sell, right?
>> You are 100%, yeah.
>> I mean, the numbers might be different, but it's the same game.
It's the same scam.
>> Kind of. So, that's leads to this hilarious
headline from ABC News, fake psychic partner sentence in $3 million
fraud scheme as opposed to the real psychic, okay?
[LAUGH]. So to Anna's point, I mean, again,
no offense, but you're gonna get offended if you believe in psychics.
Of course, they're not real, right?
I love you.
But they're not real, okay?
>> And by the way, this is coming from a Turkish guy who, I mean,
your people like to read coffee cups.
>> They do.
And so that that's exactly what I was gonna go to.
The coffee cup is real, [LAUGH] okay?
The rest of it is garbage though, okay?
You [INAUDIBLE] the Turkish coffee.
In fact, go to toostrongcoffee.com/TYT.
All right, now, seriously although you should.
So, look guys, I've done your drug, right?
So, I've been religious.
For psychics earlier in my life, I was like, could be, it could be.
I'm not saying it is.
I'm not saying it isn't.
I'm just saying could be.
And Turkish coffee cups, are you kidding me?
And as recently as earlier this year I was, well that one was pretty good.
I like that one.
So, maybe that was true, right?
So, I know but when they ask you for
all of your money, that part's not true, okay?
So, are there professional psychics who do this for a living?
More likely or less likely to be real.
Way less likely even if you believe in psychics because they really
they can read everyone that comes in.
And of course guys, you know this whole thing and you know it too.
If you're a psychic, why wouldn't you just go in the stock market?
What are you selling the psychic stuff for 20 bucks a pop?
Okay? Figure out is Tesla gonna go up or
down with your psychic powers and
you don't need the other person's $3 million, okay?
You don't need the other person's 20 bucks to do their reading, okay?
So by definition, of course, they're not actual psychics.
>> Yeah. >> And so it's not the psychics are,
I could do the stock market but I don't want to, I wanna be here in a rundown
place in South Florida doing earning it 20 bucks at a time.
>> I think the federal prosecutors need to go after the fortune cookies.
>> The fortune cookie industry?
Yeah.
Well, I'll tell you man, those guys came up with a great scam too.
>> I told you.
>> No, you she did.
>> I did.
>> She did. >> This is what happened, okay?
Chinese business owners in America were, these Americans, okay?
All they want all day long is to be validated, complimented, okay?
They're weak.
So, let's just give them what they want.
So, it's good for business.
>> It's good for a reason.
And then-.
>> Have you ever gotten a fortune cookie that told you you're a piece of crap?
>> [LAUGH] and you're doomed.
>> Your life is gonna be over in a few months,
no one's ever gotten a negative fortune.
Every fortune cookie either says something that's benign,
I've gotten benign fortune cookies like the sun might shine tomorrow.
Something like that. >> No, for sure we've all been there,
they go around the table and everybody's, my God you're gonna be the ruler
of the world, you're gonna be rich and you get to me and it says you exist, okay?
All right, well, thanks.
But generally speaking there 89% positive,
why that you need 11% so that it seems real, right?
Nothing too bad, just like neutral, right?
But 89% positive.
So, sucker Americans come back, man I'm really in the mood for Chinese food,
can't wait to get a good fortune you know because I'm gonna play the lottery later.
>> So smart.
>> Always thinking, but by the way though, in all seriousness, of course, Chinese
people love fortune tellers too, they have their own version of fortune tellers.
>> Everyone does.
>> Of course.
>> Look, listen I do think there's a place in society for
fortune tellers who aren't too greedy, right?
Don't scam a poor woman out of $3.2 million,
but you could scam us out of $20, right?
Because it's entertainment, it's entertaining, right?
>> Yeah.
>> And for people who believe in it and actually think the fortune is real,
calm down, it's gonna be okay but calm down, understand
that you engaged in something that entertained you for some period of time.
>> Yeah.
And look, what is my dad buy with a lottery ticket?
He doesn't, does he-.
>> Hope.
>> Exactly, right.
He's not buying a one in 200 million chance or
whatever it is that he's gonna win it and he's a rational person.
But you can't help but get a little bit of hope when you buy that lottery ticket.
So, the fortune telling is a similar in that way.
So, I don't wanna rain on people's parades but if they ask you for a lot of money,
don't do it.
It's definitely a scam, okay?
And by the way, I've seen people sometimes nail fortunes, right?
Maybe they got lucky, maybe this, maybe that, right?
But I've never seen that person charge,
the person who nails it never charges money, okay?
So, if they're asking you to that they lift a curse, 0% chance.
It's true.
In fact, I'll leave you on a really funny story.
A friend of mine gets into a fight with someone who he thinks based on
their characteristics probably believes in this stuff.
And they get into a real heated fight and then he goes, I got an idea and
he says to her, I just put a curse on you, right?
And she's, what?
And he's, if you are more pure than I am, you'll get all of my money.
But if I am telling the truth and I am more pure than you,
I will get all of your money and your family's money forever.
I put the curse on you.
It's too late.
You know what happened next?
She went and ran away.
>> No. >> I swear to God.
>> Come on.
>> Swear to God it was genius, okay?
[LAUGH.
>> Man, if only that would work with everyone, I'd use it all day.
>> Of course, are you kidding me?
Marjorie Taylor Greene, I put a curse on you, okay?
And those folks are the ones most likely to believe.
>> Yeah, no, she might believe it.
It's too late. >> Yeah, it was too late.
It's too late I already put the curse on.
[LAUGH]