On October 8, 2025, police arrested 52-year-old Huntingdon Valley resident Gina Marie Marks and 40-year-old Jenkintown resident Steve Nicklas for facilitating a fortune-telling scam under the business identity of Jenkintown Psychic Visions. How their scam worked was:
- Once they receive a call from a victim who simply wanted a psychic phone reading, the two would falsely claim they were “plagued by a powerful curse” that would “destroy their marriage, business and family.”
- In order to “cleanse the curse,” the victim will be asked over the course of a year to send large sums of money and luxury items, as well as personal belongings that were used for “rituals” but never returned.
- The scammers may also receive money through the use of CashApp, either directly to Marks who used the cashtag $PSYCHICVISIONS22, Nicklas who used the cashtag $STEVENICKLAS or co-conspirator Vinnie Elijah Miller, who used the cashtag $EMIL202.
- The two may also request personal photos and identifiable details, then make increasingly unorthodox requests and threaten the victim with reputational damage if their instructions were not followed.
The two were arrested in Kearny, New Jersey in late September and extradited to Pennsylvania on October 7, 2025 on charges of
- Corrupt organizations (RICO)
- Dealing in the proceeds of unlawful activities
- Theft by unlawful taking
- Theft by deception
- Receiving stolen property
- Fortune telling
The two have since been released after posting bail. Marks has also been accused of scamming victims in Maryland and New York.
https://dailyvoice.com/pa/huntingdon-valley/gina-marks-steve-nicklas-charged-in-600k-psychic-scam/