Sylvia Mitchell Update: NYC fortune teller convicted of conning clients
(CBS/AP) NEW YORK - Sylvia Mitchell, a New York City psychic, has been convicted of bamboozling more than $100,000 from clients by pledging to solve problems she traced to previous lives.
A Manhattan jury found Mitchell guilty Friday of grand larceny and scheming to defraud. She's jailed without bail ahead of an Oct. 29 sentencing.
The Manhattan district attorney's office portrayed Mitchell as a fortune-telling fraudster who preyed on vulnerable people.
A Singaporean woman testified that she paid more than $120,000 after Mitchell said she would help her to rid "negative energy."
A Florida ballroom dancing instructor testified she gave Mitchell $27,000 after being told she needed to break her attachment to money.
Defense lawyer William Aronwald says Mitchell was hired to try to help people, and there was no evidence she didn't.