A fortune teller, accused of scamming millions of euros from vulnerable housewives and businessmen, some of whom parted with as much as €300,000, has been arrested in Italy for failing to declare her earnings to the taxman.
Italian police say the card reader encouraged her clients to pay for services off book and only declared earning €300,000 a year, despite raking in an extra million each year, adding up to €4 million in undeclared earnings, Italy’s crime unit, Guardia di Finanza (GdF) reported.
The fortune teller, based in Perugia, advertised her services in newspapers and on television ads in the area. Clients contacted her via an 899 hotline, which allows the authorities to trace revenue. The fortune teller ran call centers with at least 10 employees who would detect vulnerable clients and then tell them to call the tarot reader on her personal number, selling the idea as a way to avoid paying for “time-based phone pricing.”
These clients would then be offered more consultation services for large fees which they would transfer directly into the fortune teller’s account.
Aside from exorbitant fortune telling, the teller is also said to have sold bracelets to these clients, telling them they would help them find work, and also sold a guarantee of “a year of economic security” for €300 a month.
Police said she also claimed expenses for advertisements which had never occured, in order to further reduce the tax she was paying. They say victims who fell for the alleged scam were wide ranging, from housewives to entrepreneurs and pensioners.
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