Psychic bewitched, bothered and arrested
An Ontario psychic has been charged with pretending to practice witchcraft for allegedly bilking upwards of 20 clients out of more than $100,000 in cash and jewelry, a score police say she achieved by telling highly vulnerable customers she needed to “cleanse” their property of “evil spirits” in order to cure their ailments.
Police in Milton, Ont., arrested 32-year-old Dorie Stevenson last week on charges of extortion, fraud exceeding $5,000 and pretending to tell fortunes for a fraudulent purpose, an antiquated crime that could soon be removed from Canada’s Criminal Code by legislation Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government introduced last year.
The Halton Regional Police Service launched an investigation into Stevenson, proprietor of Milton Psychic, in May on the word of a victim who alleged she’d swindled more than $60,000. The number of victims is now greater than 20, Det. Const. Sarah McCullagh said Monday.
Det. Const. Sarah McCullagh said Stevenson, who uses the pseudonym Madeena, is believed to have taken these patrons for sums as large as $85,000.
“She’d be preying on their embarrassment to not come forward to the police, because people were too embarrassed that they’d given that amount of money to someone,” McCullagh said.
Police believe Stevenson tended to target desperate clients who approached her in a state of severe vulnerability. Some were ill or in debt, McCullagh said; others were lamenting the end of a romantic relationship. McCullagh alleged that Stevenson extorted these people by warning “bad things will happen to them or their family members” if they didn’t lend her money or jewelry she claimed she could bless for them.
McCullagh said Stevenson’s alleged victims agreed to these transactions on the understanding she’d return their property once the bill or ornament they’d handed over had been purified. Customers allege Stevenson fostered their trust by giving back small portions of their money, only to stop answering phone calls as soon as they began to ask for the full amount.
Stevenson didn’t respond to phone and email messages on Monday. Police released her from custody shortly after she was arrested last Thursday and she’s expected to make her first court appearance in November.
Milton Psychic is registered as a business in Ontario in Stevenson’s name, according to McCullagh, and police believe she has worked there since 2013. Milton Psychic’s website describes Madeena as a “superior reader, healer and advisor of all psychics” and advertises a range of services that include palm, crystal ball, tarot card and rune stone reading, in addition to intangible exercises such as evaluations of a client’s aura, energy or past life. Customers can pay $75 for one reading or $130 for two.
“I am aware that you could have had false hopes and promises made to you that has (sic) led you into a deeper path of confusion,” an introductory note on the website reads. “Once you have experienced a reading with me, you will know that you have found and experienced the truest gift and guidance you have been searching for.”
Stevenson’s arrest could mark one of the very last times a Canadian is arrested for the deceitful practice of witchcraft. Bill C-51 — legislation that would, among other amendments to outdated sections of the Criminal Code, repeal a ban on fraudulently pretending to practice different forms of witchcraft — is currently in its third reading before the Senate, signifying that it is on the verge of becoming law.
McCullagh said Halton police considered not pressing the witchcraft charge on this basis, but opted to proceed because Bill C-51 has yet to be enacted. She said that the force doesn’t want Stevenson’s arrest to be viewed as a condemnation of the pagan or Wiccan religions, but merely of the fraud they say Stevenson executed.
“It’s not illegal to tell someone’s fortune. It’s not illegal to go to a psychic,” McCullagh said. “But when somebody is using this in order to commit a fraud, that is the criminal offence.”
McCullagh said the majority of alleged victims police have heard from came forward in the days after Stevenson’s arrest, and they’re hoping more will get in touch with their stories. In the meantime, the force is urging people seeking to get their fortune told to only visit psychics who are “reputable,” and to stay away entirely if they might be emotionally or financially susceptible to a possible scam.
“Also, if you are told there is a curse on you, don’t believe them,” McCullagh said. “Go there for entertainment purposes only. Do not take everything they say to heart.”