Elderly Defrauded Out of Millions in Psychic Fraud Case
Patrice Runner did it not once, not twice, but over a million times during two decades.
On Monday, a federal court sentenced Patrice Runner of Montreal on April 15 for an extensive mail fraud scam, according to a Justice Department press release dated April 15. Charges included multiple counts of wire and mail fraud and money laundering. Runner will do ten years in prison for his crimes.
Many of Runner’s victims were elderly and vulnerable, according to the 2018 indictment against him.
Runner had been living for years in Europe while orchestrating the scam. In 2020, the U.S. successfully extradited him from Spain to stand trial.
Psychic Mail Fraud
Runner and co-conspirators used a series of shell companies to send letters to prospective victims in the U.S. and Canada. They used the personas of real-life, renowned psychics in their approaches, offering astrological readings and other otherworldly services for money. The prominent psychics whose names they used were not involved in the scam.
Runner identified potential victims from purchasing address lists from other fraudsters, the indictment said.
Runner used multiple shell companies– including Infogest, the National Parapsychology Center, Zodiac Zone, and Destiny Research Group– to perpetrate his fraud, according to court filings.
Promises of Psychic Services and Objects
Runner and co-conspirators sent letters to their marks that appeared to be personalized for each victim but were actually form letters they used again and again.
In one version of the letter, Runner’s fake psychics claimed to have had visions about a particular individual, asking for money in order to provide more information.
In another approach, Runner’s ring also sold objects to victims they claimed were unique, valuable, and/or had psychic powers. In actuality, the trinkets were mass-produced junk, say prosecutors.
Unfortunately, the scammers were all too often successful in their approaches, to the tune of a combined $175 million that they were able to cheat from a total of 1.3 million victims, according to the Justice Department.
Co-Conspirators
Maria Thanos, Philip Lett, Sherry Gore, and Daniel Arnold previously pleaded guilty for their subordinate roles in Runner’s schemes, said the Justice Department.
U.S. postal inspectors and the Justice Department’s Consumer Affairs Department investigated the case. It was prosecuted in the Eastern District of New York.
Prevalence of Elderly Scams
Fraudsters victimize millions of senior citizens every year, according to the FDIC, which manages compliance and supervises U.S. financial institutions. Financial crimes against the elderly include fraud, monetary theft, and compromise of personal information.
The Justice Department warns people to be skeptical if someone contacts them to say they have won a lottery, a psychic reading, or any kind of sweepstakes. Criminals often use the name of legitimate sweepstakes or lotteries– or in this case, the names of well-known psychics– in order to bolster their credibility.
Scamming senior citizens is considered a form of elder abuse. People who have concerns about a person aged 60 or older being victimized by an elder abuser can call the National Elder Abuse Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311) for help, specialized advice, and case referral.
The Justice Department has more information about its efforts to combat abuse and fraud of senior citizens on its Elder Justice Initiative page.
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