Florida woman gets prison for $1.6 million family curse scam

Miami: A South Florida woman who claimed to be a psychic fortune teller has been sentenced to three years and four months in prison for taking $1.6 million (Dh5.8 million) from a Texas woman to remove a curse from her family.

Court records show that 28-year-old Sherry Tina Uwanawich was sentenced last week in Miami. She previously pleaded guilty to wire fraud. She must also pay restitution.

Investigators say Uwanawich met the victim in Houston, Texas, in 2007. Uwanawich gained the woman's trust and convinced her that a curse had been placed on her and her family. Uwanawich claimed she needed large sums of money for crystals and candles to perform meditations that would lift the curse.

The scheme ended in 2014 when Uwanawich admitted to the victim there had been no curse.