Dec 23, 2015

Psychic 'scammed more than $200,000 from 22-year-old heiress to Lacoste fashion empire after claiming she needed the money to buy gold coins for occult rituals'

  • Becky Ann Lee, 32, charged with felony theft in a scam against Victoria Lacoste 
  • Lacoste, a college sophomore majoring in theater, allegedly paid Lee more than $200,000 over the past year for her services as a spiritual adviser 
  • Lee was supposed to use the money to buy gold coins to be used in rituals, but police say the psychic pawned off the coins
  • Lee allegedly warned Lacoste that 'evil spirits' would overcome her if she stopped working with her on 'Chakra balancing' 
Associated Press and Dailymail.com
December 23, 2015 

A Colorado psychic is accused of swindling more than $200,000 out of a member of the French family that founded the high-end Lacoste clothing company.

Becky Ann Lee, 32, has been charged with felony theft in a scam against Victoria Lacoste, a student at the University of Colorado-Boulder.

According to police, Ms Lacoste, 22, started seeing Lee for Tarot card readings last year and eventually gave the would-be soothsayer more than $200,000, much of which Lee spent buying gold coins. She is the owner of the Psychic Chakra Spa in Boulder.

Lee didn't respond when asked for comment last week at a court hearing, where she was charged and later released on bond. She is due back in court in February.

According to an arrest warrant obtained by Daily Times-Call, at some point during the past year, Lacoste, a sophomore majoring in theater, had hired Lee as her 'spiritual adviser’ to work on her Chakra balancing.'

The 32-year-old medium allegedly told Lacoste she needed to buy gold coins to be used in her occult rituals. Instead, according to documents, Lee sold the coins to pawn shops and kept the proceeds for herself.

The Boulder-based clairvoyant also convinced the college student to buy her gift cards, which she used to purchase various items and then returned them for cash.

The affidavit states that Lee warned Lacoste that should she stop working with her, 'evil spirits' would overcome her.

The suspected charlatan allegedly pressured Lacoste to lie to her parents about why she kept asking for money, and when police contacted the young heiress in August asking about Lee, the woman urged her to keep mum, lest she gets her in trouble.

The following month, the affidavit alleges, Lee made Lacoste sign a contract outlining her services as a life coach. The document allegedly stated that Lee and Lacoste would together decide what to do with the gold coins.

Authorities suspect that there might be more victims out there. Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett urged people who may have been conned by Lee to come forward.

Lee' past criminal record includes convictions for DUI, assault and reckless endangerment, reported the Times-Call. In addition, the 32-year-old seer also has a warrant out of for her arrest on forgery charges in Arizona.

Ms Lacoste is a scion of the eponymous fashion house, which was founded in 1933 in Troyes, France, by legendary tennis player Rene Lacoste and Andre Gillier, the owner of France's largest knitwear manufacturing outfit at the time.

The company specializes in casual, high-end clothing, particularly tennis shirts, as well as leather goods, shoes, and perfumes.

All of the products sold under the Lacoste brand feature the company’s iconic 'green crocodile' logo.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3372146/Psychic-accused-scamming-member-Lacoste-fashion-family.html

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