California woman claiming to be psychic scammed victims out of $100,000, police say

SACRAMENTO - Police in Sacramento are looking for a woman suspected of scamming people out of thousands of dollars, allegedly telling them she was a psychic.

Sacramento Police Officer Karl Chan said officers responded a home along Helmsman Way in South Natomas for reports of several people out front in late September.

"When officers arrived on scene, they contacted the people and actually found out them all to be victims of fraud that had occurred at a residence on that block," Chan told KTXL.

Chan said they found out a woman, who goes by the name of “Eva Marie,” had apparently convinced a couple to give her more than $100,000.

"Ultimately, most of these victims, or all of these victims, believed the psychic and gave her money. And, eventually, the suspect fled with all the money that was given to her,” Chan said. "It also targeted the Spanish-speaking community."

Officers said the woman identified herself as a psychic to her victims, gaining their trust by promising to “bless them” or double their money.

Police said the suspect told victims to leave the money with her and she would return it a few days later.

"After interviewing the witnesses, it appears they were all victims of the same fraud account," Chan said.

Neighbors told KTXL the woman rented the home for the past two months but hasn’t been seen since the incident.

One neighbor said there were up to six to 10 cars in front of the home per day.

"It is a little bit of a unique case, which is also kind of helping us in the sense that maybe we can have people that can help us with this investigation,” Chan said.

Investigators ask asking the public for help by circulating a photo of the woman.

"Sometimes when things are too good to be true, really look into them,” Chan said. “We don’t want people to fall victim to any type of scam."