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Greenwich Village Psychic Convicted Of Swindling Clients Out Of $138K
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Oct 12, 2013
Modified Oct 12, 2013
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By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Oct 12, 2013
Modified Oct 12, 2013
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Greenwich Village psychic Sylvia Mitchell made waves in and out of the soothsayer realm a few years ago, when she was caught allegedly conning her clients out of thousands of dollars by getting them to do less than savory stuff like stuffing cash in jars. Over the years, even more clients have come forward to accuse Mitchell of swindling them, and yesterday, she was convicted of grand larceny and of scheming to defraud, and faces up to 15 years in prison. Considering her profession however, maybe this is all part of the plan.
The 39-year-old Mitchell, who was employed at Zena Clairvoyant, was accused of swindling two clients out of $138,000 in 2007 and 2008. One client, Debra Saalfield, says Mitchell told her she had been an Egyptian princess in her past life, and needed to give up her attachment to money. Saalfield did just that, relinquishing $27,000 to Mitchell; she was promised it back, but only eventually received $9,500. "I had a meltdown, I lost it, I was unable to keep myself together,” Saalfield told jurors. “I feel like as an intelligent educated woman it ‘s one of the most humiliating things that has ever happened to me.”
And client Lee Choong told jurors she gave Mitchell $128,000 over the years, with the promise she'd get it back if things in her life didn't improve. Like client Dane Chan, one of Mitchell's accusers back in 2010, Choong says she was told to stuff $18,000 in a jar to rid herself of "negative energy." That money, unsurprisingly, never reappeared.
Mitchell's attorney, William Aronwald, argued that his client's services were "contracted," and that she had not defrauded her clients. But the argument didn't fly in court. "She was clearly robbing these people in a heinous way,” one juror told the Times. Didn't take a psychic to figure that out! Schwing.
Mitchell will be back in court for sentencing on Oct. 29. Until then, she's being held in jail because the judge deems her a "flight risk," though it's unclear whether her means of flight would be a plane or a broom.
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greenwich village
psychic
sylvia mitchell
Rebecca Fishbein
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