Woman sentenced for scam in which she claimed psychic powers, pushed victim to sex work
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WASHINGTON (7News) — It’s a scam that reads like something straight out of a movie: false claims of psychic abilities, sex work, and co-conspirators claiming they’re in a mob to threaten one of the victim’s children. On Thursday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced a more-than 10-year sentence for one of the ringleaders of the elaborate scheme.
The sentencing memo starts off with this explosive statement: “Gina Rita Russell is a dangerous woman.”
According to prosecutors, Russell and five of her partners in crime got one Maryland man to embezzle more than $4 million from his D.C.-based company to feed their expensive tastes.
This scam started in October 2009, when Russell offered psychic services to a woman in New York City, demanding this soon-to-be victim provide her money otherwise “bad things would happen” to her and her family.
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