Texas couple indicted for psychic fraud scheme allegedly stealing millions from vulnerable people

Seattle - Two Texas residents were arrested this week on an indictment from the Western District of Washington for their scheme to defraud emotionally vulnerable victims by posing as "psychics" who could "cleanse" the victims' romantic bad luck, announced First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd. Bridgette Doreen Evans, AKA Jolene Travis, 47, and her partner, Vinnie John Uwanawich, 44, of Frisco, Texas, will make their initial appearance in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Texas today on charges of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, four counts of wire fraud, and four counts of mail fraud.

"As alleged in the indictment, these perpetrators of 'fortune teller fraud' came into the lives of these victims at a time when their judgement was clouded by emotional loss and feelings of hopelessness," said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Floyd. "Ms. Evans preyed upon their needs, convincing victims that she could 'remove a curse' and help them find love. In truth her scheme was simply to help herself to their wealth, leaving them further devastated."

"This case is yet another demonstration of how fraudsters exploit vulnerable situations to gain their victims' trust, even creating fake identities in an attempt to evade accountability and further schemes that last years," said W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle field office. "The schemes may change, but the greed driving them does not. The FBI and our partners will follow the money to unravel these scams and ensure the conspirators responsible face the consequences of their actions."

According to the indictment, Evans and Uwanawich stole at least $2.5 million from at least three victims between April 2021 and July 2024. Evans operated under the fake name Jolene Travis and advertised her "psychic services" on social media. Her posts were designed to attract people who were struggling with romantic or personal problems: people experiencing divorce, death of a loved one or feelings of isolation.

Evans allegedly told the victims she could perform readings and rituals to determine the cause of their misfortune. Ultimately, she told them their "curse" was tied to their money or finances. After asking for a detailed accounting of the victims' financial holdings, she would tell the victim the only way to remove the curse was to liquidate the holdings and send the money in gold coins or cash so that she could "cleanse" the money. She represented to the victims that after she cleaned it, she would return it to them. While she returned some small amounts to clients to lull them into further trusting her, she never returned the vast majority of the $2.5 million.

Uwanawich, Evans' husband, facilitated her fraud by managing bank accounts that received payments from victims, selling gold coins, transferring and spending fraud proceeds, and vouching for Evans with victims.

The indictment details how Evans used the fake identity because she had previously been convicted of psychic frauds in Florida and Texas. In fact, during part of the fraud scheme, Evans was incarcerated in Florida, so Evans' co-conspirators took on the Jolene Travis alias to keep the fraud going.

Evans allegedly convinced a second victim to send $86,000 in electronic payments to Evans for her "cleansing work." A third victim was defrauded of more than $258,000 when Evans convinced her to take out loans to buy a Corvette to be delivered to Evans and to give Evans access to her credit cards to pay off the victim's "karmic debts."

Evans also operated under the names Joy John and Joy Paige. The FBI continues to investigate the scheme and wants anyone who thinks they may be a victim to report the crime to https://www.ic3.gov.

Conspiracy, mail fraud, and wire fraud crimes are all punishable by up to twenty years in prison.

The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations. A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case is being investigated by the FBI.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dane A. Westermeyer. The U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Texas is assisting with the initial appearance today.