South Florida Woman Behind Bars For Alleged "Spiritual Cleansing" Fraud
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBS4) - A Broward County woman is accused of using sorcery to bilk thousands of dollars from unsuspecting people looking to "cleanse" the evil spirits in their lives.
Bridgette Evans, 32, was indicted by State Attorney Wilfredo Ferrer last week. Evans, along with two other Texas women, have been charged with two counts of mail fraid and ten counts of wire fraud. Evans faced a judge in Fort Lauderdale on Friday. Also on Friday, the other women, Polly Evans, 36, and Olivia Evans, 22 made their first appearance in a Fort Worth, Texas courtroom.
It is not clear how the women are related.
Prosecutors say all three women participated in a scheme from January 2007 through February 2009 where they falsely represented themselves as having powers to detect and rid the victims of evil spirits through a religious cleansing. As part of the scheme, the women allegedly coaxed the victims to send them thousands of dollars for the purported cleansings, and promised to return the money as soon as the cleanse was complete.
The money, prosecutors say, was never returned to the victims. The women are thought to have netted $59,000.
If convicted, all three women face up to 20 years in prison on each count of mail fraud and wire fraud.
