'I lost my life savings to a physic - he said he had to drive evil spirits away'

01 September 2023 , 10:52

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The woman hasn't spoken out about it until now (stock image) (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A woman has claimed a psychic scammed her out of her life savings. Visiting a 'spiritual healer' in Melbourne, Australia, Antoinette* said he had conned her out of more than £15,000 to rid herself of "evil spirits". After leaving an abusive relationship in 2021, she came across a local 'healer' online who described himself as a "renowned best psychic, astrologer, and spiritual healer" on his website.

He also listed a variety of services he provides, including curse and black magic removal. Antoinette, who has always been spiritual, scheduled a £50 reading in the hopes that it would direct her on a more positive path. She didn’t expect that the so-called psychic would instead tell her that she was cursed. Over numerous sessions, the healer is said to have gained Antoinette's trust and persuaded her that "evil spirits" were trapped inside her and that only he could free her.

Antoinette claims that throughout the course of the following few months, the healer "pressured" her into spending more money on psychic services that he guaranteed would drive the evil spirits away. "At that time I was just really, really vulnerable and I had nothing to lose. That's when it went from £50 to £1k, to £2.3k, and then all of a sudden he was asking for £8.7k," she told 9Honey.

When Antoinette started having issues with the large sums she was paying, the healer allegedly began to blackmail her. She said he told her to not talk to any of her friends or family about what was happening, otherwise, the spell of the demons would get worse. He said that if she didn't pay, she would die. Antoinette said she was so manipulated by him that now she was determined to destroy the “bad spirit”. According to Antoinette, the blackmail persisted until she paid over £15k and depleted her savings account entirely.

She said that when she eventually confronted the psychic and begged for her money back, he refused. Antoinette had gone from someone who was doing well in her business to someone who was struggling to pay for her groceries. Her mental health was severely impacted by the alleged scam, and due to embarrassment and shame, she hid her experience for a long time. "I just let it go because I thought, 'This is just so embarrassing. How could this happen to me? I'm smart,'" she explained. Antoinette claims she has not gotten any of her £15.3k back and is sceptical that she ever will.

'My ex partner charged me £2.62 for eating banana and toast at his mum's house'

*Name changed for privacy reasons.

Billie Schwab Dunn