Woodland Hills woman ordered to pay more than $200K to clients she defrauded as a fortune teller
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A Woodland Hills fortune teller started seeing a new vision for her future while in court Wednesday over allegations that she defrauded people for more than $200,000.
Melissa Lee, who was the focus of an Eyewitness News investigation, was in court when the judge said she defrauded eight people. She agreed to a plea deal that would keep her out of prison as long as she adhered to a schedule to pay back all the money.
Lee is suspected of obtaining the money by telling clients that their money had to be handed over to her temporarily so that it could be cleansed of bad energy. Clients believed that they would get their money back.
In court, one of the victims spoke out. She said she lost her family's life savings and that her credit score plummeted.
Lee's lawyer counted off $20,000 in checks to begin paying back the victims. Lee will be back in court in six months to determine if she is on track for further payments. If the mother of two fails to pay, she could be sentenced to as many as three years in prison.
