Psychics scammed victims out of $600K to ‘remove curses’. But didn’t predict their own downfall

Two people in Pennsylvania were arrested in connection with a series of scams that are believed to have made them almost $600,000 fraudulently obtained from unsuspecting clients.

This new issue in the wizarding world came after police were able to obtain financial statements from Zelle, CashApp, and a credit union — from clients who go as far back as 2022. The names of the two suspects are Gina Marie Marks, 52, and Steve Nicklas, 40. Together, they’ve been running Jenkintown Psychic Visions since at least 2022, where they’d “remove curses.” In reality, the only thing they’d remove was the property and money of unsuspecting clients.

And yes, Jenkintown Psychic Visions does actually have a Yelp account — with a one-star rating. The bio of the page boasts of a “gifted psychic” and “manifesto coach.” The individual running the page promises big — even offering to somehow reunite “twin flames.”

This is truly one of the most bizarre conning cases of the year. At the top of the Yelp account’s comment section is a person alleging that Jenkintown Psychic Visions used a traumatic event from her childhood to emotionally manipulate her. The suspects allegedly took $12,500 from her and a Chanel bag.

A victim from 2022 sought help from the psychics, who then warned her of an apparent “curse” on her marriage. This prompted the victim to send the psychics cash and gifts from Sep. 23, 2022, to Aug. 31, 2023. The bill scammed from that victim alone was $595,959.

Another victim’s allegations went way beyond just financial exploitation. Allegedly, this victim dealt directly with Marks, who had unorthodox requests to see through her “rituals.” Marks would apparently add personal photos to the usual demands for cash and designer gifts.

Marks and Nicklas are being accused of involvement with corrupt organizations, theft by deception, fortunetelling, theft by taking, and receiving stolen money. The two are expected to appear in court on Oct. 20, where they’ll enter their pleas and likely face a trial that’s bound to mix financial records with magic. Currently, their attorneys have not responded to any formal requests for comment — and reportedly, Marks doesn’t even have a lawyer yet.

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele, however, sounded very confident about the case being built against the two. Steele released a statement obtained by NBC, saying, “These defendants, through their con scheme, preyed on people who were looking for help, guidance, and hope, exploiting them for financial gain. They are now going to be held accountable for their actions.”

Hopefully, Steele gets the victims justice. $600,000 is enough to amount to a very successful person’s entire retirement package. For that to be spent on giving people who scam for a living a green flag to burn through money until they run out of fun ideas is unacceptable. Let’s just hope this time the scammers don’t ask for a Presidential pardon. Stranger things have happened.

More victims will probably come forward as the case wears on, and the court will be more equipped to verify these claims against the two psychics who were able to see everything in the future — except their eventual arrests.