Gina Marks
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Gina Marie Marks | |
---|---|
Born | January 25, 1973 |
Other names | Regina Milbourne, Zara Margazio, Regina Miller, Gina Mylkos, Melinda Mylkos[citation needed] |
Occupation(s) | writer, psychic |
Spouse | Sunny Miller[citation needed] |
Criminal charge | Grand theft, violating probation, fraud |
Regina Milbourne (born January 25, 1973[1]) is the pseudonym of Gina Marie Marks, author of Miami Psychic: Confessions of a Confidante, a memoir published by the Regan Books division of HarperCollins in 2006.[citation needed]
Criminal Charges
In 1999, Marks did a call-in radio show that aired in San Francisco. She simply paid $300 for the airtime. A woman in California heard the show and called a 1-800 number. The "psychic" then convinced her that all of her problems were the result of "dirty money" and persuaded the woman to withdraw $9,900 from the bank each day until she had $75,000 in hand.[citation needed]
On January 5, 2000, Marks told the victim to put the cash in a pillowcase and meet her in a hotel room. There the future Regan Books author rubbed cream on the victim's chest and prayed over the money. "Marks convinced the victim that she had to take the money to a secret shrine in San Jose in order to continue cleansing it," according to reports. "Marks took the $75,000 and subsequently refused to return it." San Mateo County police dropped charges when restitution was paid.[citation needed]
In 2007, Marks pleaded no contest to grand theft charges related to an agreement to "cleanse souls" for a total of $65,000.[2] She was then put on probation for eighteen months and ordered to return the money back to her clients. In 2009, she was arrested again for a similar event.[3]
On March 11, 2010, she was arrested again in Florida for defrauding another victim of over $300,000 and for violating probation as the result of an investigation conducted by Private Investigator Bob Nygaard.[4]
On April 27, 2010, while still in Broward County Jail, she was arraigned again on further fraud charges involving another victim who came forward due to media exposure from her March arrest.[5]
She is the wife of Sunny Miller, and the mother of his three children. Her psychic "offices" were in Hollywood, Fl and Weston, FL[citation needed]
On September 1, 2010, Marks pleaded guilty to grand theft and two counts of organized fraud. In addition she admitted to violating her probation. The conviction was based upon an intensive investigation that was conducted by Private Investigator Bob Nygaard on behalf of Marks’ victims. At her sentencing, Marks handed over a $400,000 check to partially repay her victims. Broward Circuit Judge Cynthia Imperato ordered that after prison, Marks must serve eight years of probation and repay her victims the remaining $103,679 she stole.[6] Gina Marie Marks was paroled in June, 2011 from Gadsden Correctional Facility. She served nine of her eighteen month sentence.
References
- ^ http://www.seminolesheriff.org/en-us/advisories/transient_offenders/reports/trav550.html
- ^ http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local-beat/Prison-Prediction-for-Psychic-Scammer-63840247.html
- ^ http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local-beat/Prison-Prediction-for-Psychic-Scammer-63840247.html
- ^ http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sun_sentinel/access/1984594831.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Mar+17%2C+2010&author=Rafael+A+Olmeda&pub=South+Florida+Sun+-+Sentinel&edition=&startpage=B.2&desc=PROFESSED+PSYCHIC+IS+ACCUSED+OF+TAKING+%24300%2C000+FROM+CLIENT%3B+DIGEST
- ^ http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fort-lauderdale/fl-psychic-new-charges-20100427,0,4471364.story
- ^ http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2010/09/chait_investigation.php