American Greed: Scams, Scoundrels and Scandals Season 10 Episode 5 Psychic Fiend's Network
- May 12, 2016
In season 10 episode 5 of American Greed: Scams, Scoundrels and Scandals, the focus is on the Psychic Fiend's Network. The episode delves into the story of Rose Marks and her family, who allegedly scammed millions of dollars from clients seeking psychic advice and guidance.
The show begins by introducing Rose Marks as the matriarch of a family of "psychics" who offer services such as tarot readings and clairvoyant insights to people seeking answers to their life's questions. Rose and her family are based in Florida, where they run the Psychic Fiend's Network, a business that reportedly made over $40 million from psychic readings and other services.
As the episode progresses, viewers see how the Marks family allegedly used their psychic abilities to scam clients out of huge sums of money. They promised clients they could help them connect with deceased loved ones, locate missing items, or protect them from harm. They also claimed that their gift of clairvoyance was passed down through generations of their family, giving them special insight and knowledge that no one else could possess.
The show reveals the various ways the Marks family allegedly carried out their scams. They would tell clients that their money was cursed and needed to be cleansed or "healed." They would also claim that they could get rid of evil spirits or curses that were affecting their clients' lives. In some cases, they even convinced clients to hand over large sums of money to be invested in business ventures that never materialized.
Viewers meet some of the victims of the Marks family's scams, who describe how they were lured in by promises of help and advice, only to be swindled out of thousands or even millions of dollars. One victim, a woman named Debra Caplin, lost more than $17 million to the Marks family, believing that they could help her get back money she had lost in a bad investment.
The episode explores how the Marks family was finally caught and brought to justice. It shows how law enforcement officials used wiretaps and other methods to gather evidence against the family and ultimately secured convictions on charges of fraud and money laundering. Viewers also learn about the punishment handed down to the family members involved in the scam, including Rose Marks, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Overall, American Greed: Scams, Scoundrels and Scandals season 10 episode 5 offers a fascinating and often shocking look into the world of psychic scams. It exposes the tactics used by the Marks family to deceive their clients and highlights the devastating impact their actions had on the victims. The show also serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of blindly trusting those who claim to possess supernatural powers.