The Hunt Is On For International Scammer, Psychic Maria Duval

Maria Duval, psychic and longtime grifter, is falling under scrutiny. CNNMoney today announced a new endeavor by award-winning investigative journalists Blake Ellis and Melanie Hicken. They are beginning an extensive investigation to find the real story behind the person who claims to be the French psychic.

Maria Duval is the subject of a fascinating five-chapter series hosted by CNNMoney. In Chapter One, beginning today, they describe how elderly people are a frequent target of these scams, which offers them comfort and support in exchange for their Social Security checks. There are many individual heart-wrenching stories of people with Alzheimer’s and other diseases, people who are bankrupt and desperate, just looking for a glimmer of opportunity.

Is psychic Maria Duval behind the biggest con in history? A @CNNMoney investigation: https://t.co/fZWBgY81N8 https://t.co/UhdxqIYdUT

— New Day (@NewDay) February 25, 2016

Maria Duval is the savior, the magic genie who offers them the miracle they need, just by looking into the crystal ball of destiny. The person seems to be real. In fact, according to Wikipedia, she is a real person. It claims the name Maria Duval is a pseudonym for Carolina Maria Gambia. She was born in Milan in 1938. She owned the Hong Kong based organization, Astroforce. She has since become president of the Institute for Parapsychological in France.

Both companies use her image in advertising and mass mailings, to coax money from believers. The letters claim to offer help in exchange for money. The amount is usually around $40, and in exchange it offers some sort of talisman or lucky numbers. Using this method, Maria — or her puppeteers — have scammed millions of dollars from unsuspecting victims all over the world.

Wikipedia notes that the letters, all allegedly signed by Maria for a personal touch, boast an impressive resume.

• making accurate & verifiable predictions for the past 23 years in at least 2,400 TV shows and 8,400 radio broadcasts
• her achievements have been featured in over 700 newspaper articles
• predicting the rate of the dollar and the Stock Market Index and major newspaper headlines
• regularly working with doctors and the police
• telepathically located more than 20 missing persons
• having celebrities come from all over the world to consult her

People were drawn to her in droves. They couldn’t get their wallets out fast enough. There is page after page of documented stories of desperate people trying to solve their personal disasters, by buying the answers from Maria Duval.

The scheme has lasted over 20 years and throughout over a dozen countries, CNN Pressroom reports. In the United States alone, it has claimed over 1.4 million victims.

Elderly, broke and homeless: The victims of a $200 million psychic scam https://t.co/hVhFlhTfvl via @CNNMoney
— VictimsOfCrime (@CrimeVictimsOrg) February 25, 2016

The spell goes even beyond her message of hope. People tried to develop relationships with her. They saw her as a trusted friend, and often she was a secret friend that other families knew nothing about. They would send Maria holiday cards and letters. Some of them have been recovered by the U.S. government. One victim had written the following.

“I’m already thinking what I would do with all this money. My wife would not have to work anymore and would drive a newer car. So I would too. We could install air conditioning in our house.”

It hasn’t been just the elderly who are targeted. There are terrible stories of other victims who have been affected personally, and whose families will never be the same, like the 17-year-old U.K. girl who threw herself in a river and drowned. When she was pulled out, a letter from Duval was found in her pocket. Her mother told the news that the girl had been corresponding with her for weeks.

“Clare used to be a happy girl but she went down hill after getting involved with all this.”

CNN has noted that U.S. prosecutors have appeared confused in court filings.

“It is unclear whether Maria Duval is a real person or a fictitious character.”

One psychic. Millions of victims. @blakeellis3 & I are determined to find her Join our hunt https://t.co/yub8b8AdlK pic.twitter.com/Tet4hdICmq

— Melanie Hicken (@melhicken) February 25, 2016

If she isn’t real, Ellis and Hicken are asking, then who is this blonde woman claiming to be her? And where did this figurehead originate? Who is the real criminal behind the scenes?

They hope to find answers in the coming months. As they say in Chapter 1 of their five-part series, “Next Thursday we begin our hunt for Maria Duval.”

[Image via Fer Gregory/Shutterstock]