A “self-proclaimed” psychic was sentenced Friday to nine and a half years behind bars after scamming a Tampa, Florida woman and her elderly husband out of $1.4 million.
The scam began when Jaycee Wasso met a distraught woman in the mall in 2017 and convinced her that she was cursed, according to the Florida Attorney General’s Office. The victim, Lin Halfon, allegedly paid Wasso $4,000 to lift the curse.
In the weeks that followed, Wasso pressured Halfon to give her more money to ward off evil spirits, FOX 13 Tampa Bay reported. She also persuaded Halfon to marry a Tampa businessman, Richard Rappaport, who was 50 years her senior.
Self-proclaimed psychic Jaycee Wasso was convicted in March in twisted $1 million scam. Two months later, she was hoping to change her fortune during her sentencing. https://t.co/5sTQWStsbY
— FOX 13 Tampa Bay (@FOX13News) May 6, 2023
Wasso then convinced Halfon to lie to her 75-year-old husband, saying that she needed money for her mother’s cancer treatment and her father’s gambling debt, according to prosecutors. The money, along with jewelry, including a $50,000 Rolex watch, ended up in Wasso’s pockets, prosecutors said. (RELATED: A Man Was Told That His Dad Had Abandoned Him. Then He Hired A Psychic Who Unearthed A Murder)
The now 80-year-old Rapport told the jury during the trial that he felt manipulated and lied to. “Yes, I fell for it. Hook, line and sinker,” he said.
The scheme came to light when authorities uncovered a plot to cash a $1 million dollar check that Wasso told Halfon she needed to scare her demons away.
Halfon pleaded guilty to organized fraud for her role in the scam, Boston 25 News reported. Thursday’s verdict sealed Wasso’s fate for her involvement: nine and a half years in prison and 15 years of probation upon release.
“This self-proclaimed psychic couldn’t see past her own greed and criminal intentions, and it doesn’t take a crystal ball to predict that she will be spending a long time behind bars, thanks to the skillful efforts of my Statewide Prosecutors,” said Florida Attorney General Ashley Moddy.
“I did not appreciate the seriousness of my actions, now I realize what I did was selfish and wrong,” Wasso said.