August 11, 2015
A brother and sister in Bucks County who stole more than $17,000 from an elderly woman under the guise of providing her "psychic services" will head to trial after waiving their right to a preliminary hearing on Tuesday.
According to The Bucks County Courier Times, Rocky Samuel, 28, of Bensalem, and Amanda Thompson, 24, of Bristol, allegedly took advantage of the 89-year-old woman after she called a local psychic in April to get a card reading.
The elderly woman, who has not been identified, gave the siblings her credit card number in exchange for calls and visits to help advise her on how to handle a recent streak of bad luck. The woman gave the pair a credit card number to bill her for services from Psychic Energy Reading in Bensalem.
Police say the woman noticed an unauthorized $9,000 charge on her credit card statement, which led to a further review showing more than $15,000 in unauthorized charges or purchases made through coercion, according to court records. In total, the siblings are accused of stealing more than $17,000 from the woman.
Samuel and Thompson are charged with theft, receiving stolen property and conspiracy, with additional kidnapping and burglary charges against Samuel for allegedly forcing the woman to go to banks and make withdrawals. Samuel is also accused of stealing tools from the woman after the siblings gave her advice to remove items in the house associated with people who were causing her trouble.
Both siblings remain free on $50,000 bail unsecured. Their case will head straight to Bucks County's Court of Common Pleas.
