FRAUD FRIDAY: The Psychic Scam

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
You are about to hear a feature that was created
to expose the scammers, thieves, and con artists among us.
The dialogue and temperament about to be used by Hollywood
Hamilton does not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of iHeartMedia.
This is Fraud Friday.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
This week we will be talking about the psychic scam if.
By the way, if you missed any of the Fraud
Fridays over the last eight months, you can go to
k two dot com search the Hollywood Hamilton Show and
the KTU Morning Crew. Check out our podcast under Fraud
Fridays and right there you'll get it. Just everything under
the sun when it comes to scamming and fraud. With
that being said, Marie, who do we got on the

(00:42):
phone with us this week?

Speaker 3 (00:43):
We have Laura and from my understanding, this is the
victim's sister.

Speaker 2 (00:49):
Okay, Hi, Laura, I.

Speaker 4 (00:51):
Really appreciate you guys.

Speaker 2 (00:53):
Now your sister didn't want to call. Let's first, let's
talk about that a little bit. What's going on with
your sister?

Speaker 4 (00:58):
What's happening? Well, just humiliated, but yeah, no, she feels ridiculous.
I mean, it was eight thousand dollars that this woman
took So, I mean, that's why I listen to you
guys all the time on frod Friday. You like do
get things done and you do take care.

Speaker 2 (01:14):
So thank you. I appreciate you listening. Let's get right
down to it. This week's Fraud Friday. We're dealing with
a psychic scam, psychic fraud running rampant in the city
right now. Tell us a little bit about what your
sister got involved with.

Speaker 4 (01:26):
It was in Times Square and you know she's going
through rough time. She gets a tap on her shoulder
and this woman who is apparently a psychic, or she
claims to be a psychic. I she's clearly not a psychic.
She told her we had evil spirits in our family
that she could tell. It was all around my sister,
and she could see all the evil spirits and she

(01:48):
needed to clear out the evil spirits and make everything right,
make everything better. And all she needed to do was
follow her down the street.

Speaker 2 (01:56):
You're saying that the psychic just tapped down her shoulder
and started the conversation right there in Times Square, right there,
like randomly out of nowhere.

Speaker 4 (02:03):
Yeah, well, so my sister is very superstitious. You know,
we had a weisi board. Growing up, she had all
the witch books. She was the type you know, if
if your left eye was twitching, she would be like, oh,
that's bad luck, and here's why. So she's the kind
that when.

Speaker 3 (02:20):
Considering, Okay, we understand, we understand, we understand.

Speaker 2 (02:22):
Let me let me progress the story along a little bit,
because we want to get right down to the call.
So this happened five six months ago from what I understand. Uh,
And then over the course of the five six months,
she kept continuing to go to this psychic, thinking she
was going to be cleared of these evil spirits, which
led to giving her the psychic eight thousand dollars.

Speaker 4 (02:43):
Oh my gosh, right, yeah, because everything became about this situation.
So every week she would go see this woman and
it'll be oh, you know there's still evil spirits around you.
Oh did your car not work today? I mean, this happen,
and there would always be like something. She'd be like no,
oh no, and then she would go until she found
something that was going wrong. And then you know, every

(03:04):
time my sister went, it was more and more.

Speaker 2 (03:06):
Money, and you got the number. Now her name is
let me look here on my notes. The name is
es Morelda perfect as Morelda the psychic.

Speaker 3 (03:15):
If I could come in here for just a moment
before we.

Speaker 2 (03:17):
Actually Yes, Samantha, thank you.

Speaker 3 (03:19):
Yes. Is there, Laura, anything specific you can tell us
before we make this call? Anything specific about es Morelda.
Good question.

Speaker 4 (03:28):
She had one of those little dogs. She has Yorky
and I do know the address. Hold on, let me look.

Speaker 2 (03:35):
Okay, so she Oh, you have an address where she
had her parlor, where she lives or where she works?

Speaker 4 (03:41):
No, no, well it's both because all right. So it's
at the Shield, which is on three West Street. Yeah,
so it's on the twenty second floor.

Speaker 2 (03:51):
Oh, we're getting money back. We're getting money back.

Speaker 3 (03:53):
I got an address. Oh I got an address to
this woman. You seem so confident.

Speaker 2 (03:57):
Oh, done, done, finish, we're getting money by let's go,
let's go.

Speaker 1 (04:01):
You're listening to Fraud Friday with the KTU Morning Crew.
We'll be right back with part two when Hollywood and
Marine make the call. Buckle up because things are about
to get rough. Welcome back for part two for this
week's Fraud Friday.

Speaker 3 (04:27):
Hello, Hi, I'm calling for Esmeralda. Do I have the
right number?

Speaker 5 (04:35):
Yeah, this is a Marilda Hi.

Speaker 3 (04:38):
I was given your name by a friend of mine
and she's I'm sorry, Well it's a it's a a
friend of a friend really that that gave me your
number and said that you might be able to help me.

Speaker 5 (04:55):
So so what is this about what I can do
for you?

Speaker 3 (05:00):
Well, you know, I don't know. It just really feels
like I got a lot of you know, bad luck,
and I don't know.

Speaker 5 (05:07):
What kind of butt luck are you experiencing right now?

Speaker 3 (05:12):
Well, I had to relate. You know, my my boyfriend
and I broke up. I'm fighting with my sister. My
dog got really sick a few weeks ago and we
had to put him down. I know, it's terrible. I
have two jobs. I lost one, so now I have

(05:34):
to get a second job. Now I got to go
fight another job. I don't even know how that's going
to happen. You know how I'm going to do that?

Speaker 5 (05:41):
Can you? Can you? Can you please remind me your
your your name?

Speaker 3 (05:46):
Oh it's Marie Murray.

Speaker 5 (05:48):
Okay, Mary Mary. I want you to do me a favor.
I want you to take your phone, okay, put it
on your chest with both hands.

Speaker 3 (06:01):
Okay, all right.

Speaker 5 (06:04):
Okay, I can feel I can feel that it's a
lot of going on around you.

Speaker 3 (06:14):
Oh yeah, okay, makes sense. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're right
on the money, right on the money.

Speaker 5 (06:21):
With that, the spirit of your dog is around you
and it's trying to help you out from the other side.
I don't know if you sometimes feel at night like
someone is pulling your your blanket. You know, you don't
feel that at all.

Speaker 3 (06:37):
He's left in a crate, so.

Speaker 5 (06:40):
He never Yeah, but he's in the other side, you know.
I feel like he's around you trying to protect you.
But you do have something going on very dark around you,
losing your job, you're fighting with your sister. Definitely is
something there.

Speaker 2 (06:59):
Just mentioned that you can you believe somebody gave this
woman eight grand Yes, okay, we're here, Okay, as as
as Morelda, listen to me. I want you, I want
you to listen to me very carefully. My name is
Sean Hamilton. I'm a private investigator here in in New
York City, and I've got somebody by the name of

(07:20):
Laura on the phone with me.

Speaker 4 (07:21):
Laura, are you there, Yes, I'm here.

Speaker 2 (07:25):
Laura. Can you identify the voice of Esmerelda? Is this
the woman the accent? Is this Is this the woman
that has taken your sister for eight thousand dollars? Is
that correct?

Speaker 5 (07:36):
Yes?

Speaker 2 (07:37):
Okay, okay, uh as Morelda, here's the deal. We are
literally moments from turning you in. We're gonna we're gonna
take this through to the Federal Trade Commission. New York
State Department Consumer Protection Bureau NYPD. Listen to me really carefully.
We have Laura on the phone with us right now.
She has a sister that she's been taking advantage of

(07:57):
by you for nearly eight thousand dollars. Do you know
who we're talking about, Esmeralda, Do you know who we're
talking about? No, Laura, what is your sister's name?

Speaker 4 (08:09):
Kathy? Kathy's from Jersey.

Speaker 2 (08:12):
By the way. Uh, you do live and work at
the Shield on the twenty second floor, Covent Street, the
twenty second floor.

Speaker 5 (08:19):
No, I don't.

Speaker 2 (08:21):
Well, you're lying, you're lying.

Speaker 5 (08:22):
You're lost a lot of clients. I don't remember.

Speaker 2 (08:24):
All right, Well, let me tell you something right now.
We're not playing around. Okay, we're getting ready. Samantha. Can
you do me if evor can you get Jared NYPD
Detective Crime Unit on the phone with us right now?

Speaker 5 (08:34):
Yes?

Speaker 3 (08:35):
I sure can, absolutely, And we know you have a
Yorky you have a dog at the s We know that.

Speaker 5 (08:40):
How do you know that?

Speaker 2 (08:42):
Convince me that you're not fake? You're not a fake psychic?

Speaker 3 (08:45):
Well, some people are explain to us why you're not fake.

Speaker 5 (08:50):
Because I some people get very upset sometimes when their
problems do not get resolved. Kathy came in.

Speaker 2 (09:00):
She called me, Oh wait a minute, hold on, what
do you mean? Kathy came in? I thought you didn't
I thought you didn't know cats.

Speaker 5 (09:08):
Yeah, okay, well.

Speaker 2 (09:15):
We're getting ready to shut you down there as Marelda. Now,
we can do this a couple of different ways. Uh,
if you can't pay the entire amount, how much can
you pay and how fast can you pay it? Kathy
wants her money back. She's been ripped off by you.

Speaker 5 (09:29):
Well Morelda, Yeah.

Speaker 3 (09:32):
Okay, yeah, what I mean, what what are you going
to do?

Speaker 5 (09:34):
I can refound her for the last two visits, you know,
I you can do what. I can refound her money
for the last to visit.

Speaker 2 (09:46):
Laura, how much is it per visit? Do you know
how much your sister was giving up per visit?

Speaker 4 (09:52):
It got to be an average of six hundred dollars
a visit.

Speaker 2 (09:55):
Yeah, twelve hundred dollars is not going to make it,
as Merelda, twelve hundred bucks is not going to make
it now?

Speaker 5 (10:00):
Uh?

Speaker 3 (10:01):
Half? Can you give half back? Half of what they ate?

Speaker 5 (10:06):
Okay?

Speaker 2 (10:06):
Somebody gave this woman eight grand. It's just I'm shocked. Hey, dummy,
we're looking for the money back. Okay, we want the
money back, all right? How much can you give back?
You're ripping people off.

Speaker 5 (10:21):
Look if I if I give half of it, will
you just step out of my life and leave my
business alone? Would you do that for me?

Speaker 4 (10:32):
I feel like we could cut our losses. I don't
want to speak for her, but like I guess that's
kind of where I'm at.

Speaker 5 (10:37):
All right, So, so.

Speaker 2 (10:38):
How do you want How do you want to work this? Lord?
Do you want to go down personally and collect the
money or do you want Zelle or we can do veno?

Speaker 3 (10:46):
Okay? Is that how people pay you is through VENMO?

Speaker 5 (10:49):
I'm assuming I prefer not to get into my personal.

Speaker 3 (10:53):
Of course, of course, I'm so sorry. We're so sorry
your personal business.

Speaker 5 (10:58):
Yeah, I can't do thirty five hund okay you, but
you have to leave my business alone. I have things
to pay. Please, I have things to pay. I do
help people, Okay, I do my best. I can't for people,
and that people feel differently is none the pros?

Speaker 2 (11:19):
Stop stop, we don't care. I don't care, all right,
all right, I understand. Uh Laura, how do you want
to how do you want to end this? Laura?

Speaker 4 (11:25):
Laura?

Speaker 2 (11:26):
Are you agreeing to the fact that you're not going
to rat out the We're not going to the New
York City Police Department where now?

Speaker 3 (11:32):
Are you okay with that?

Speaker 4 (11:33):
She's clearly doing with other people, so she's going to
get caught eventually, exactly. Yes, sure, I'm not going to
rat out the person who has so many expenses. Yeah, okay, sure,
send over the money that you owe. That's it.

Speaker 2 (11:48):
Exactly. Because it is a federal communications commission. If we
tell somebody on the air, might as well tell her. Now,
if we say to this person on the air that
we're going to do something, we have to actually follow through.
We can't rat her out. The radio station's liable, so
we have to. It's like an honor system, believe it
or not.

Speaker 4 (12:06):
Yeah, I mean she's not leading me on and my
sister on. Then that's all right.

Speaker 3 (12:10):
Fine, okay, all right, okay, very good, okay, and you
can you can make these decisions based on for your sister. Right.
Your sister's not gonna say, why did you do this?
I didn't?

Speaker 2 (12:20):
Okay this you're speaking on behalf of your sister, correct, Laura.

Speaker 4 (12:23):
Yes, I'm speaking on behalf of my sister or whole
family and everybody who has had to go through this.

Speaker 2 (12:28):
All right, very good, Samantha. We're going to take her
off the air right now. Samantha, go ahead and do
the deal with her and thirty five hundred dollars and
tell your sister not to be so freaking naive next time. Yeah,
don't be so gullible, Laura. We appreciate you calling.

Speaker 5 (12:41):
What do you mean after the air?

Speaker 4 (12:42):
What do you mean with that?

Speaker 2 (12:43):
Oh, just we'll tell you in just a minute. As
morel do hold on stand by fraud. This is fraud Friday.

Speaker 1 (12:50):
Have you been a victim of fraud? Have you been
taken by a scam? The Hollywood Hamilton Show and the
KTU Morning Crew would love to hear from you. Text
us at six nine nine three five. That is six
nine nine three five. This is fraud Friday.