Woman charged in witchcraft scam

York police say victim allegedly lost $600K after being tricked into selling his house and car

After a nearly year-long investigation, York Regional police have charged a Toronto woman with witchcraft and fraud for allegedly costing one of her victims $600,000 in an “evil spirit blessing scam.”

The investigations started in November 2017 when a 67-year-old man reported a financial abuse incident, York police said in a Thursday news release. Investigators learned that the victim had met a psychic using the name “Evanna” approximately four years earlier.

The woman, police said, had convinced the victim that in order to get rid of “evil spirits” in his home, he should sell his house and transfer the money into her account where she would hold it until the spirits left.

According to police, the suspect did not return the money and later told the victim she needed an additional $6,000, which she said she would burn to ward off spirits. The victim sold his car and used his credit card and other forms of payments to meet several other financial demands, police said

Samantha Stevenson, 27, of Toronto, has been charged with pretending to practice witchcraft, fraud over $5,000 and possession of property obtained by crime.

Stevenson is also known as Evanna Lopez, police said.

In 2016, a joint investigation of the Star, Ryerson University’s School of Journalism and CTV’s W5 revealed how Toronto’s thriving fraudulent fortune-telling industry uses potions, sleight of hand and smooth sales patter to collect small fortunes from thousands of vulnerable victims.

Most victims, the investigation found, are too embarrassed to turn to police.

The offence of pretending to practice witchcraft concerns people who “fraudulently portray themselves as having fortune-telling abilities or pretend to use witchcraft, sorcery, enchantment or conjuration in order to obtain money or valuable from a victim,” police said in the release.

“The scam often involves a group of suspects who approach victims on the street. The suspects typically warn the victim that they are surrounded by evil spirits and that a family member will die very soon if they are not removed,” police said.

Stevenson was scheduled to appear in Newmarket court on Thursday.

If you have been a victim of a fraud and have lost money, contact the York Regional Police Major Fraud Unit at1- 866876-5423, ext. 6627.