Credit: Falls police
Falls Township police weren’t predicting they would arrest an alleged fortune teller so soon after she was sentenced to probation for bilking two women.
Sophie Evans, 54, of Philadelphia, was taken in to custody by detectives after a woman came forward after reportedly recognizing the scam artist’s face after a LevittownNow.com post. The article was posted Tuesday morning and focused on Evans being sentenced to probation for the crime of fortune telling.
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In December, a woman reported to Falls police that a female named “Anna” approached her outside a local fitness center and allegedly scammed her of nearly $20,000 over the course of several days. The woman, who suffered a traumatic brain injury in a November 2011 car crash, did not turn more information over to police at the time.
After being alerted to LevittownNow.com’s story and seeing Evans’ mugshot, she spoke with police and confirmed Evans was “Anna,” police said.
According to the woman, who received a large financial settlement as a result of the 2011 crash that left her with lifelong injuries, said she was called over to a car by an unknown male in the parking lot of a gym in Middletown in December. The woman approached the car saying she was interested in learning about her fortune after he asked her.
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Once she got in the car with the man, she met Evans who introduced herself as “Anna.” Inside, Evans said she was a psychic and needed money to read the woman’s fortune and remove the evil spirits surrounding her, police said.
The woman went to the bank and retrieved $1,200 to pay Evans. When questioned why the 54-year-old needed so much money, Evans told the woman she needed it because she would be exhausted after praying all night, police said.
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Over the next few days, the woman contacted the woman and said they needed to meet as there was still “evil and misfortune.” They eventually met and the woman gave Evans $10,000 and was taken to a hotel room where a ritual was performed, police said.
On two occasions, the woman was driven by Evans and “associates” to an apartment complex in Philadelphia and given suspected marijuana to smoke while Evans spoke of the “evil” surrounding her, according to court papers filed by Detective Sgt. Chris Clark.
In mid-December, Evans kept contacting the woman saying their was “evil and misfortune” and they needed to meet. Once they met, they went to two banks and withdrew $5,000 from the second bank. The woman mentioned to the teller that the people she was with were trying to steal from her and the teller asked if the woman needed help. She told the teller no and gave the cash to Evans, police said.
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After withdrawing money from the bank, the woman told Evans she wanted her money back. Evans gave a portion of the cash back but said misfortune would plague her if she kept the money. The woman ended up giving the money back to Evans, police said.
The woman also alleged that Evans gave her a blue pill that made her drowsy and foggy before dropping her off at her house.
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That was the last time the woman and Evans met.
The woman told detectives that Evans told her not to tell anyone about her physic services and to disregard friends and family.
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“Evans has no power, ability or means to predict future events, stop bad luck, give good luck, cause or remove misfortune or predict or foresee anyone’s fortune,” police wrote in an arrest warrant filed Wednesday.
The latest incident reportedly happened weeks after her first arrest for the fortune telling and weeks before a second case was filed against her.
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Evans, who was sentenced to probation for the two previous cases, was arraigned Wednesday night on charges of theft and fortune telling. She was sent to prison on $20,000 unsecured bail.
Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
