‘Hoodoo Spell’ fails to block fraud charge against financial adviser

Woman slit tongues, chanted to keep SEC attorneys quiet.

ANNAPOLIS, MD. — A financial adviser and former radio host accused of running a Ponzi scheme has discovered there is no magic way to escape the charges.

An FBI affidavit made public last week says agents searching Dawn J. Bennett’s home recovered instructions for placing three Securities and Exchange Commission attorneys under a “Beef Tongue Shut Up Hoodoo Spell.”

Agents found written instructions for casting spells — and also shelves filled with hundreds of pairs of shoes.

According to the affidavit, the instructions called for slitting open an animal tongue and chanting incantations including “I command you to hold your tongue.”

Agents also found two freezers in Bennett’s residence in Chevy Chase, Md., inside of which were dozens of sealed Mason jars containing information about the SEC attorneys, with their initials written on the jars.

Bennett, 55, has been charged with wire fraud, bank fraud and false statements in relation to loan and credit applications.

Her attorney didn’t immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

Bennett, who is owner and operator of D JB Holding, LLC, solicited people to invest money in her internet clothing business, the complaint said. She allegedly offered a 15 percent annual interest rate.

The complaint alleges she used the money on a variety of luxuries, including jewelry, high-end clothing, mystics and a $500,000 annual lease for a luxury suite at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys football team.

The SEC contends Bennett fraudulently raised about $20 million between December 2014 and July 2017.

Bennett, whose radio show “Financial Myth Busting with Dawn Bennett” was nationally syndicated, was arrested in Santa Fe, N.M.

She has been released on $5 million bond.