By Tim Binnall
A self-proclaimed psychic in Canada has been accused of fooling a woman into forking over a staggering $46,000 to fend off 'evil spirits' that he claimed were attached to her. The unfortunate case reportedly began back in October when the alleged victim, identified as Marie Jean, turned to a Toronto soothsayer after she had been forced to sell her home and subsequently fell into a deep depression. "I was feeling lost, I was sad," she recalled, "I saw a billboard that said a psychic astrologer with 35 years experience can resolve any problem, so I called the number to go and see him." Alas, she ultimately grew to regret that decision when things quickly took a dark turn.
Upon meeting the psychic for the first time, Marie Jean was shaken by the 'revelation' that her previous poor fortune had been due to evil spirits inflicting their sinister influence. The sorcerer, who goes by the moniker Maha Dev, warned her that these entities posed a serious danger to the lives of both her as well as her family, but assured her that the supernatural situation could be resolved for the 'low cost' of $10,000. As so often happens with such cases, that initial transaction was merely the start of a series of increasingly urgent financial demands that ultimately saw the woman give Maha Dev a jaw-dropping $46,000.
The undeniably unhealthy relationship recently came to an end when Maha Dev demanded an additional $20,000 and Marie Jean came to the realization that she was being scammed. "I feel used, embarrassed," she lamented, "I should have been smarter." Fortunately, this sadly typical tale of a psychic grift wound up having an unusually happy ending as a media outlet investigating the case contacted Maha Dev about the woman's claims. Although he insisted that he had no idea what they were talking about, Marie Jean says that he reached out to her the following day and shockingly returned all of her money, presumably to avoid being swept up by the long arm of the law.