A Texas couple has been arrested in what federal prosecutors are calling a “fortune teller fraud” that allegedly milked millions of dollars from victims for a financial “cleanse.”
Bridgette Doreen Evans, 47, and her husband, Vinnie John Uwanawich, 44, of Frisco, Texas, have been accused by the Department of Justice of stealing at least $2.5 million in a years-long ruse.
The two were arrested last week on an indictment from the Western District of Washington for allegedly taking advantage of emotionally vulnerable people, promising to “cleanse” them of romantic bad luck if they turned over their money, the DOJ announced in a June 10 press release.
Evans would pose as a psychic named Jolene Travis, advertising her services on social media to people experiencing loss or isolation, prosecutors said.
She would claim to her clients that she could perform readings and rituals, which would ultimately tell her that their curse was tied to their finances, according to prosecutors.
Evans would then allegedly tell her clients that they had to send her their money in gold coins or cash so she could cleanse it and remove the curse.
Her clients were under the impression that Evans would return their money after she cleansed it, according to prosecutors.
While Evans did return small amounts of money to her clients to make them trust her more, the vast majority of the $2.5 million she stole was never paid back, prosecutors said.
At least three people were victims of the alleged scheme, which the couple ran from April 2021 to July 2024, according to the DOJ.
One victim lost more than $258,000 when Evans persuaded her to acquire loans to buy a Corvette to be delivered to Evans and to give Evans access to her credit cards to pay off her “karmic debts,” prosecutors said.
Evans allegedly convinced another one of her clients to send her $86,000 in electronic payments.
For his part in the alleged scheme, Uwanawich managed bank accounts that received the money from his wife’s clients and sold gold coins, according to the DOJ. He also allegedly vouched for Evans with the victims and spent their money.
“As alleged in the indictment, these perpetrators of ‘fortune teller fraud’ came into the lives of these victims at a time when their judgement was clouded by emotional loss and feelings of hopelessness,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd from the Western District of Washington said in a statement.
“Ms. Evans preyed upon their needs, convincing victims that she could ‘remove a curse’ and help them find love. In truth her scheme was simply to help herself to their wealth, leaving them further devastated,” Floyd added.
The couple has been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, four counts of wire fraud, and four counts of mail fraud. The charges are all punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
Evans was previously convicted of psychic fraud in Florida and Texas, according to prosecutors.
