A Lafayette psychic accused of stealing almost $300,000 from clients will serve five years in prison.
Nancy Marks, 55, owned Psychic Reading, 707 S. Public Road, in Lafayette. A Boulder County jury found her guilty in December of 14 counts of theft and two counts of tax evasion.
The victims told police that Marks said she needed their cash to "draw out the bad energy" and their credit card numbers to see how frequently the number 6 appeared. Marks then refused to return the cash and used the credit cards to make purchases at Macy's, Target and Sears, according to police and court records.
Prosecutors said Marks would suggest that clients withdraw money in particular denominations and perform minor rituals with the cash themselves. When the clients' personal problems continued, Marks would suggest more "work" was needed and ask them to give her the money for safekeeping. On a few occasions, she returned small amounts in an attempt to pacify an angry former client, but the majority of the money was never returned.
Marks was sentenced Friday to five years in prison.
