By Perry Duffin
Police are hunting for a “gypsy” psychic syndicate accused of scamming vulnerable people out of family fortunes using a bizarre cleansing ritual, with a husband and wife already accused before the courts.
NSW Police last week issued a call for information after multiple victims reported being robbed by people claiming to be psychics.
Self-described “gypsy” Maria Williams is accused of scamming a vulnerable woman using a bizarre cleansing ritual.
Police arrested two people and on Friday said that they are hunting a third alleged member of the syndicate.
Self-described “gypsy” Maria Williams, 48, and husband Larry, 50, were both arrested by detectives in August and are behind bars, held on remand, after being refused bail.
Court documents, obtained exclusively by the Herald, allege a heartbroken woman visited Maria Williams’ home in 2020 for spiritual services.
Williams allegedly used the name “Anna” at the time and knew her visitor was separating from her husband, court documents claim. The woman was in financial distress and had relied upon friends and family for money during her divorce – she intended to sell the marital home and pay them back.
Williams allegedly warned the woman that “repaying the funds would be handing ‘bad spirits’ back to them”, the documents claim.
“Instead, the accused told the victim that the funds from the sale of the property would need to be cleansed,” the document reads.
The documents allege the woman sold the Matraville home and transferred more than $160,000 to the Williams’ bank accounts “on the basis that they would be returned within 21 days following the alleged cleansing process”.
But only a fraction of the fortune trickled back, police claim, even as the weeks dragged on, and the alleged victim fell behind on rent and was evicted.
Tina Montana, the sister of accused scammer Maria Williams, outside Bankstown Local Court. Montana is not accused of any wrongdoing.Credit: Steven Siewert
Police claim Williams sent $15,000 to the Matraville woman, and promised the rest would follow by the final day of 2020.
“The prosecution alleges the accused intentionally deceived the victim and took advantage of her vulnerability during her marriage breakdown,” the fact sheet alleges.
Williams had just been convicted of another spiritual cleansing scam when she was interviewed by police in July last year.
But in August this year, border force stopped Williams as she attempted to board a flight out of Australia.
Williams told police she had been paying back the Matraville woman, using money from friends and family overseas.
“She had a British passport, a one-way ticket, she was off to visit her ill mother who she hadn’t seen I think since 2013,” Williams’ lawyer William Brewer told Bankstown Local Court last month.
Brewer asked the magistrate to release Williams on bail, saying the case against her had “civil overtones” and was about a contract dispute.
Williams hoped she could stay in her uncle’s caravan in the Illawarra region, with her sister Tina Montana, who is not accused of any wrongdoing and sat in the back of the court.
Magistrate Jennifer Giles refused Williams’ bail saying she was facing “very serious” allegations and had a “shocking record”.
“It would seem vulnerable members of the community are at grave risk from (Williams) and it’s a risk I can’t contain with bail conditions,” the magistrate added.
Police suspect another woman, who they say speaks with a Romanian accent, is the third person involved in the alleged scam.
The psychic cleansing scam appeared to date back to at least 2006.
Larry Williams is facing one charge of dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception and recklessly dealing with the proceeds of crime.
Maria is charged with dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception.
Both have been refused bail and are expected to appear in court on November 7.
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.