Self-Proclaimed Psychic Coerces Victim into Prostitution

1
00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:04,440
Self-proclaimed psychic is
accused of getting a Maryland

2
00:00:04,440 --> 00:00:08,440
man to embezzle more than $4
million to feed her lavish

3
00:00:08,440 --> 00:00:10,840
lifestyle.
The scheme that stretched from

4
00:00:10,840 --> 00:00:13,320
coast to coast is like something
out of a Hollywood movie.

5
00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:18,000
In this episode of No Tears for
Black Girls, we delve into the

6
00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:21,360
chilling tale of Gina Rita
Russell, a self-proclaimed

7
00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:24,760
psychic whose manipulative
schemes left countless victims

8
00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:29,120
in financial and emotional ruin.
Known for her air of confidence

9
00:00:29,120 --> 00:00:33,120
and promises of spiritual aid,
Russell preyed on vulnerable

10
00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:36,440
individuals, convincing them to
part with their money for

11
00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:41,040
supposed mystical services.
This episode unravels her

12
00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:45,240
deceitful journey from extorting
10s of thousands of dollars from

13
00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:49,000
unsuspecting clients to coercing
a young woman into sex work and

14
00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:54,080
marriage to evade prosecution.
We uncover the sinister web she

15
00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:57,680
wove with the help of her family
and accomplices, resulting in a

16
00:00:57,680 --> 00:01:02,160
staggering $4.2 million
restitution order and multiple

17
00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:05,480
prison sentences.
Join us as we explore how

18
00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:09,040
Russell's greed and manipulation
were finally brought to justice

19
00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:11,760
and the lasting impact on her
victims.

20
00:01:13,800 --> 00:01:17,640
On a dark spring evening, Gina
Rita Russell approached a woman

21
00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:19,640
on the busy streets of Los
Angeles.

22
00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:23,400
With an air of all knowing
confidence, she declared that

23
00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:25,400
their meeting was destined by
fate.

24
00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:29,160
Russell offered to use her
psychic abilities to help the

25
00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:32,080
woman with her troubles for a
fee of $300.00.

26
00:01:33,120 --> 00:01:37,000
As they sat in a nearby park,
she read the woman's palm and

27
00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:40,280
revealed that her music career
was plagued by negative energy.

28
00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:43,640
She claimed to have the power to
cleanse it and convince the

29
00:01:43,640 --> 00:01:46,320
woman to hand over 10s of
thousands of dollars.

30
00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:50,120
Under Russell's guidance, the
woman engaged in sex work and

31
00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:52,200
surrendered most of her earnings
to Russell.

32
00:01:52,960 --> 00:01:55,560
But this wasn't the first time
Russell had used her supposed

33
00:01:55,560 --> 00:01:57,480
psychic powers for personal
gain.

34
00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:01,360
In fact, she was already
awaiting sentencing for a $4

35
00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:05,280
million extortion scheme on the
East Coast, which involved

36
00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:08,880
manipulating another vulnerable
young woman through fear and

37
00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:11,600
violence.
Russell's true nature as a

38
00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:15,920
menace to society was revealed
in court documents, detailing

39
00:02:15,920 --> 00:02:19,400
how she preyed on unsuspecting
victims with promises of

40
00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:23,360
spiritual assistance.
Ultimately, she was sentenced to

41
00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:26,800
10 years in prison for her
heinous crimes, while others

42
00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:29,760
involved in the schemes were
also brought to justice.

43
00:02:30,560 --> 00:02:33,960
The victims whose lives were
forever changed by Russell's

44
00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:38,080
deceit and manipulation can only
hope to find some peace and

45
00:02:38,080 --> 00:02:43,000
closure from her incarceration.
HN started off as a personal

46
00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:46,600
assistant to Russell and her
wealthy family but soon became

47
00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:49,440
entangled in their web of deceit
and greed.

48
00:02:50,360 --> 00:02:53,840
The clan had an insatiable
desire for lavish possessions

49
00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:58,040
and extravagant experiences, but
lacked the willingness to earn

50
00:02:58,040 --> 00:03:02,880
it honestly.
Instead, they used HN as a pawn

51
00:03:02,880 --> 00:03:05,600
to manipulate and scam people
out of their money.

52
00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:10,240
At first, HN was just providing
legitimate services and

53
00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:13,280
receiving financial
compensation, but then Russell

54
00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:17,080
began coercing her into lying to
her father about needing money

55
00:03:17,080 --> 00:03:21,080
for various expenses.
In one instance, Russell even

56
00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:24,400
went so far as to have her
mother pose as a therapist on a

57
00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:28,040
phone call to convince H NS
father to give them more money.

58
00:03:29,120 --> 00:03:33,120
When H NS father eventually cut
her off, Russell convinced her

59
00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:36,880
to turn to sex work for money.
Through advertisements on

60
00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:42,720
websiteslikebackpage.com, HN met
Daniel Zankan, a married man who

61
00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:47,040
fell in love with her and
proposed seeing an opportunity

62
00:03:47,040 --> 00:03:49,960
for more riches.
Russell and her family concocted

63
00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:54,080
stories of danger and financial
troubles to manipulate Zankan

64
00:03:54,280 --> 00:03:56,360
into giving them money and
valuables.

65
00:03:57,320 --> 00:04:01,280
The scheme also involved Tony
John Evans pretending to be a

66
00:04:01,280 --> 00:04:05,280
mobster during phone calls with
Zankan, threatening him and his

67
00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:08,480
family if he didn't comply with
their demands for money.

68
00:04:09,280 --> 00:04:14,200
In total, Zankan embezzled over
4 million from his employer in

69
00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:17,279
just three months.
When the FBI caught wind of the

70
00:04:17,279 --> 00:04:21,680
operation and interviewed HN,
she and Russell hastily got

71
00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:25,600
married in an attempt to use
spousal privilege as protection

72
00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:29,480
against prosecution.
But in the end, justice caught

73
00:04:29,480 --> 00:04:32,360
up with them all as they were
sentenced for their crimes.

74
00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:37,600
HN was indicted on a slew of
charges, including fraud,

75
00:04:37,600 --> 00:04:41,840
extortion and conspiracy.
Despite claims that the charges

76
00:04:41,840 --> 00:04:46,040
were dropped, a spokesperson for
the US Attorney's Office denied

77
00:04:46,040 --> 00:04:50,720
any indication of such.
HN remained silent when

78
00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:56,320
approached for comment.
In 2017, Zankan pleaded guilty

79
00:04:56,320 --> 00:04:59,920
to bank fraud and money
laundering conspiracies and is

80
00:04:59,920 --> 00:05:05,000
currently awaiting sentencing.
The following year, a federal

81
00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:09,240
grand jury charged Russell
Robert Evans, Tony John Evans,

82
00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:13,560
Cory Blue Evans, Archie Kaslov,
and Candy Evans.

83
00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:19,880
Tony John Evans, 35, and Robert
Evans, 37, admitted guilt to

84
00:05:19,880 --> 00:05:23,040
interference with Interstate
commerce by extortion and

85
00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:28,720
received five year sentences.
Cory Blue Evans, 31, pled guilty

86
00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:32,040
to bank fraud and was sentenced
to over three years in prison.

87
00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:37,480
Kaslov, 57, admitted to wire
fraud conspiracy and received a

88
00:05:37,480 --> 00:05:40,160
sentence of 2 1/2 years behind
bars.

89
00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:45,520
Finally, Candy Evans, 55,
confessed to manipulating a

90
00:05:45,520 --> 00:05:48,960
witness through corrupt means
and was sentenced to one year

91
00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:53,560
and a day in prison.
According to David Felson,

92
00:05:53,760 --> 00:05:57,200
Zankan's lawyer, these con
artists were experts at their

93
00:05:57,200 --> 00:05:59,920
craft.
Once they had you in their grip,

94
00:06:00,280 --> 00:06:05,840
there was no escaping.
In July 2019, Russell pled

95
00:06:05,840 --> 00:06:09,200
guilty to Interstate commerce
extortion, but before she could

96
00:06:09,200 --> 00:06:12,320
be sentenced in May of the
following year, authorities

97
00:06:12,320 --> 00:06:15,480
discovered she had already begun
another scam in Los Angeles.

98
00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:19,440
Details of V1's interview with
the FBI were revealed by

99
00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:23,680
Kleinman in a March filing.
V1 claimed she first met

100
00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:27,320
Russell, who went by Lauren,
while walking home from work one

101
00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:30,240
evening.
After performing a palm reading

102
00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:33,440
for V1 and exchanging numbers,
the two began meeting

103
00:06:33,440 --> 00:06:36,720
frequently.
At first, Russell did not ask

104
00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:40,720
for money, but instead focused
on learning about V1's past to

105
00:06:40,720 --> 00:06:43,640
identify sources of negativity
and blockages.

106
00:06:44,520 --> 00:06:47,680
However, as their meetings
continued, Russell began

107
00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:51,000
requesting money for deep
meditation and prayer on V1's

108
00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:55,240
behalf, as well as materials
needed for the work, such as

109
00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:59,120
large candles.
She even showed V1 a picture of

110
00:06:59,120 --> 00:07:02,920
a human sized candle that she
claimed had broken due to V1's

111
00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:05,640
negativity and demanded money to
replace it.

112
00:07:06,600 --> 00:07:09,400
V1 ended up giving 10s of
thousands of dollars from her

113
00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:11,880
family and friends to continue
paying Russell.

114
00:07:12,800 --> 00:07:16,560
Eventually, Russell convinced V1
to leave her job, stating that

115
00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:20,640
it was time to move on.
According to court documents,

116
00:07:20,840 --> 00:07:24,680
Russell had a sinister plan in
motion to use the vulnerability

117
00:07:24,680 --> 00:07:27,040
of others for her own financial
gain.

118
00:07:28,080 --> 00:07:32,440
She convinced V1 to engage in
sugar daddy work and promised

119
00:07:32,440 --> 00:07:35,720
her that the money earned would
go towards spiritual work that

120
00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:39,320
would secure V1's future in the
music industry and help those

121
00:07:39,320 --> 00:07:43,200
she loved.
But as time went on, V1 realized

122
00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:45,800
she was being manipulated and
wanted out.

123
00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:49,800
However, Russell made it clear
that ending their arrangement

124
00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:51,760
could have dangerous
consequences.

125
00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:56,080
Despite these red flags, V1
continued down this dark path

126
00:07:56,360 --> 00:07:58,800
until Russell's arrest on March
19th.

127
00:07:59,800 --> 00:08:03,000
In total, Russell and her
accomplices were ordered to pay

128
00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:07,560
back $4.2 million in
restitution, highlighting the

129
00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:10,440
true extent of their greed and
manipulation.

130
00:08:11,320 --> 00:08:15,080
Even after facing justice for
her crimes on the East Coast, it

131
00:08:15,080 --> 00:08:18,440
seems Russell couldn't resist
continuing her deceitful ways in

132
00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:21,560
DC.
Thank you for tuning in to No

133
00:08:21,560 --> 00:08:24,560
Tears for Black Girls.
This series is skillfully

134
00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:28,360
crafted by acclaimed writer and
producer Jon Reedberg with the

135
00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:31,320
guidance of unapologetic host
Samantha Paul.

136
00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:35,240
Catch new episodes every Tuesday
and Thursday on all major

137
00:08:35,240 --> 00:08:38,200
podcast platforms.
You can listen anywhere,

138
00:08:38,440 --> 00:08:42,559
anytime, and if you truly enjoy
our content, please leave a five

139
00:08:42,559 --> 00:08:46,640
star rating and positive review.
Remember to stay loved, stay

140
00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:48,320
blessed, and stay safe.