Current:Home > reviewsConvicted scammer who victims say claimed to be a psychic, Irish heiress faces extradition to UK -MoneyMatrix
Convicted scammer who victims say claimed to be a psychic, Irish heiress faces extradition to UK
Ethermac View
Date:2025-04-08 22:38:57
A woman accused by scam victims of crisscrossing the U.S. claiming to be an Irish heiress is expected in court Wednesday for a hearing that could extradite her to the United Kingdom.
Marianne Smyth, a 54-year-old American, will be in federal court in Maine for the hearing that relates to allegations she stole more than $170,000 from at least five victims from 2008 to 2010 in Northern Ireland. United Kingdom officials said Smyth stole money that she had promised to invest and arranged to sell a victim a home but took the money.
A court issued arrest warrants for her in 2021, according to legal documents. In February, she was located and arrested in Maine. She is being held in Piscataquis County Jail in Dover-Foxcroft.
In a court filing, Smyth’s attorney, Kaylee Folster, argued she is not guilty of the charges and requested a hearing on the allegations. Neither Folster nor Smyth would comment about the case.
Smyth’s case has similarities to Anna Sorokin, a grifter convicted in New York of paying for a lavish lifestyle by impersonating a wealthy German heiress.
Among those fleeced was Johnathan Walton, who started a podcast in 2021 called “Queen of the Con” to warn others about Smyth. She was found guilty of stealing tens of thousand of dollars from Walton and spent about two years in jail.
Smyth said she needed the money after her bank account was frozen and for bail after she was jailed, he said. Walton assumed he would be repaid, since Smyth told him she was due an inheritance of $7 million from her wealthy family in Ireland.
“She plays off of people’s weaknesses and then a lot of people are too embarrassed to come forward and admit that they lost this money,” Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Jeffrey Megee, who prosecuted the case that sent Smyth to jail, said.
Smyth and Walton grew close over several years in Los Angeles, when she bought him expensive dinners and luxury vacations, he said. But her story began to unravel when Walton realized she was jailed for stealing $200,000 from a luxury travel agency where she worked.
“She has no shame. And she has no conscience,” the 49-year-old reality television producer, author and public speaker said. “She revels in casting countless victims as unwitting actors in her elaborate schemes to defraud.”
The podcast has drawn tips from dozens of victims from California to New York, Walton said. Some have accused her of starting a fake charity for Ukraine, while others say she has described herself as an emissary for Satan, a witch, a hockey coach, a cancer patient and best friends with Jennifer Aniston. She often changed her name and appearance, her victims say.
Heather Sladinski, a costume designer in Los Angeles, said Smyth scammed her out of $20,000 for psychic readings, fake life coach sessions and cult-like retreats that included rituals, breathing exercises and yoga. Smyth was funny, smart and had credentials and other documents to back up her claims, Sladinski said.
The 50-year-old from Los Angeles cut off contact with Smyth after she wanted to do a bizarre ritual involving a chicken to win back her ex-boyfriend, who had a restraining order against her, Sladinski said. Smyth then started making threatening phone calls and Sladinski “was so scared” that she moved homes, Sladinski said. She has filed a police report against Smyth and testified at Walton’s trial.
veryGood! (4234)
Related
- Finally, good retirement news! Southwest pilots' plan is a bright spot, experts say
- Texas says no inmates have died due to stifling heat in its prisons since 2012. Some data may suggest otherwise.
- Mississippi governor requests federal assistance for tornado damage
- Silicon Valley Bank failure could wipe out 'a whole generation of startups'
- Rylee Arnold Shares a Long
- With Increased Nutrient Pollution in the Chesapeake Bay, Environmentalists Hope a New Law Will Cleanup Wastewater Treatment in Maryland
- U of Michigan president condemns antisemitic vandalism at two off-campus fraternity houses
- Video: Carolina Tribe Fighting Big Poultry Joined Activists Pushing Administration to Act on Climate and Justice
- Meet first time Grammy nominee Charley Crockett
- Warming Ocean Leaves No Safe Havens for Coral Reefs
Ranking
- From family road trips to travel woes: Americans are navigating skyrocketing holiday costs
- White House targets junk fees in apartment rentals, promises anti-price gouging help
- 16-year-old dies while operating equipment at Mississippi poultry plant
- Temu and Shein in a legal battle as they compete for U.S. customers
- Behind on your annual reading goal? Books under 200 pages to read before 2024 ends
- A Furious Industry Backlash Greets Moves by California Cities to Ban Natural Gas in New Construction
- Death of intellectually disabled inmate at Virginia prison drawing FBI scrutiny, document shows
- The Biden administration demands that TikTok be sold, or risk a nationwide ban
Recommendation
Selena Gomez's "Weird Uncles" Steve Martin and Martin Short React to Her Engagement
Margot Robbie's Barbie-Inspired Look Will Make You Do a Double Take
Treat Williams’ Wife Honors Late Everwood Actor in Anniversary Message After His Death
The White House is avoiding one word when it comes to Silicon Valley Bank: bailout
Trump invites nearly all federal workers to quit now, get paid through September
Australian sailor speaks about being lost at sea with his dog for months: I didn't really think I'd make it
For 40 years, Silicon Valley Bank was a tech industry icon. It collapsed in just days
The U.S. takes emergency measures to protect all deposits at Silicon Valley Bank