Hollywood psychic fraud sentencing
A Hollywood fortune teller was sentenced Tuesday to 37 months in federal prison after being arrested again for duping people with claims she could free them from evil spirits.
Bridgette Evans, 33, raked in $1.6 million from clients who believed she could eradicate otherworldly forces causing them misfortune, court records show. She would instruct people to send her cash—and in one case, a Rolex watch—that she would use in a spiritual ritual, promising to return the money once the spirits disappeared. She didn’t.
Along with two relatives, Evans was arrested in May and charged with tricking clients out of money since 2007. All three have cut deals with prosecutors. Evans pleaded guilty in Fort Lauderdale federal court to a count of wire fraud and a count of mail fraud.
She previously served five years’ probation after taking a plea deal in a similar “cleansing” case in 2000, U.S. District Judge William Dimitrouleas noted while sentencing her.