A Canadian conman claiming to be “psychic” has been hammered with a ten-year prison sentence after being found guilty of “swindling tens of millions of dollars from more than a million Americans.” For more than 20 years, Patrice Runner had been putting out promises of “wealth and happiness” in exchange for cash sent his way through the mail…cash that ended up totaling around $175 million. In the scam, customers “received letters from Runner and his associates falsely claiming to be personal correspondence sent be well-known so-called ‘psychics’ Maria Duval and Patrick Guerin.” Once victims responded, they were then “bombarded with additional letters and requests.” In a 2023 interview, Runner was quoted as saying, “Maybe it’s not moral. Maybe it’s B.S….but it doesn’t mean it’s fraud.” The legal system disagreed, hitting him on charges of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, eight counts of mail fraud, four counts of wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering…which he would’ve seen coming if he truly were psychic.
Source: BBC