Psychic charged with swindling woman out of nearly $20,000

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/December 16, 2014

By Ashley Luthern

A Milwaukee woman who claimed to be psychic is accused of swindling another woman out of nearly $20,000.

Janet T. Adams, 34, was charged Tuesday with theft by fraud. The criminal complaint filed against her outlines a pattern of taking money from the victim over three months, beginning in April.

According to the complaint:

The victim, identified as P.W. in court documents, learned of Adams and her business as a psychic and healer from her hair stylist. The stylist referred to Adams as "Isabella," which Adams would later tell authorities is her "spiritual name."

P.W., who had unanswered questions about her father's death in a car crash, contacted Adams and went to her house in the 6000 block of Fond du Lac Ave. for a reading.

Adams described P.W.'s personal life, claimed to pick up energy from P.W.'s mother and said P.W.'s deceased father was trying to contact her.

In order to hear her father, Adams said, P.W. needed to "cleanse." Adams offered to help in that process — but only if P.W. paid $400 for "tools." P.W. wanted to think about it and ask her mother for advice, but Adams warned against it, so P.W. drove to a gas station and returned with $240 from an ATM.

The next day, P.W. called Adams, who told her to come "right away" because "terrible things" were happening. Adams claimed P.W.'s stepmother killed her father and that her stepmother had paid $10,800 for "bad spirits."

To combat the bad spells, Adams said, P.W. would have to pay that much or more. P.W. believed what Adams said, because she already had suspicions about her father's death.

Adams walked to a closet and pulled out a three-inch stack of money totaling $7,000, saying she would use it to protect P.W.'s family from her stepmother. P.W. should match the amount, which would be returned after Adams conducted her work to counteract the bad spirits at a Greek church in Menomonee Falls, Adams promised.

Over three months, P.W. gave Adams $23,300, using money from a friend, her business and her retirement account. Adams returned $5,200 but when she failed to give back the rest, P.W. began investigating and realized Adams had told several lies, including the one about the Greek church in Menomonee Falls.

When interviewed by police, Adams admitted she owed P.W. money and said she had spent the money on her father-in-law's funeral.

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