She Had a Bad Day and Consulted a Psychic. It Destroyed Her Life.

21 min readIN EARLY 2024, a young Los Angeles musician who was down on her luck met with the FBI. She had a story that, at first, seemed unbelievable.Nine months earlier, her career faltering and her morale low, she was approached one night by a psychic. The psychic said she could see that something was bothering her and offered to do a palm reading. The reading showed spiritual blockages hanging over the musician’s life, and the psychic said they would need to work together closely to clear them.The musician gave the psychic thousands of dollars, the amounts increasing over time, and even bought cars for her and her family. At the psychic’s instruction, the musician lied to her own family, extracting what she could from them. When that wasn’t enough, the psychic put her to work. But now, confused and desperate, and overwhelmed by how she had even ended up in this situation in the first place, the musician needed to tell someone what had happened to her.When the FBI ran the psychic’s name in their system, they discovered a familiar narrative of victimization had played out at least once before. Gina Rita Russell—psychic hustler, skilled manipulator, and pill-popping madame—was already on the FBI’s radar. And the story that put her there, beginning more than a decade earlier, was wilder than anyone could have imagined.ONE NIGHT IN the fall of 2009, Jill Smith* was walking home through the streets of New York City, her self-esteem at an all-time low. Smith, 24, had just lost her job and gone through a devastating breakup. She felt vulnerable and rudderless, unable to launch her adult life. She’d been crying herself to sleep every night. When she passed a psychic storefront in the West Village, Gina Rita Russell was sitting outside at a small table. “Come for a reading,” Russell called out warmly. Smith declined politely, but Russell was persistent. So Smith took a seat and handed over $40.Russell described herself as a “spiritual guider.” She peered into Smith’s palm, holding it in her own plump hands, and said she could see why Smith’s life was uncomfortably stalled. Even worse, she could see more bad things down the road. Smith needed Russell’s help, and fast. They would have to do “the work” to clear the mystical clouds hanging over Smith’s future, “driving the demons out” together. For the first time in a while, Smith’s despair lightened. She felt relieved that Russell wanted to help her.What began as a cautious friendship at a rough time in a young woman’s life soon morphed into a nightmare. Over the next eight years, Russell would push Smith to abandon relationships, walk away from her budding career, and engage in degrading acts to clear what she was told was a malignant hex. And then, when the spell was finally broken, Smith would face a new uphill battle common to victims of trafficking: trying to persuade the courts that she wasn’t a coconspirator but a victim of forces that even she struggled to explain.GROWING INTEREST IN “spiritual wellness” is driving the purchase of shiny little crystals and the borrowing of chants from Eastern traditions, plus plenty of yoga-and-gratitude retreats in places all over the world. But as part of this trend, some women are also leaning on psychics and other intuitive practitioners.According to recent Pew research, 30 percent of Americans now consult astrology, tarot cards, or fortune tellers at least once a year. For women under 50, 43 percent “believe in astrology,” while only 27 percent of women 50 and over do. Eight percent of women say they rely at least a little on astrology, tarot cards, or fortune tellers to make big life decisions. Psychics are now ubiquitous, from small storefronts in one-stoplight towns to psychic influencers on Instagram with hundreds of thousands of followers. In November, Oprah had a psychic medium on her podcast discussing how to communicate with dead relatives. It can all be in good fun and perhaps even offer a bit of clarity. But at other times, it can veer into a form of exploitation.In Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, a man-woman team with multiple fortune-telling charges against them allegedly fleeced a woman of more than $600,000, convincing her that they needed the money to lift a curse (their court cases are pending). A mother and daughter in Australia were recently arrested for allegedly running a $46 million psychic scam in which they told victims to sign over loans so they could use their powers to make the victims rich. And a woman in Toronto was allegedly scammed out of almost $8,000 by a Texas psychic she met on TikTok following the death of her stepfather. She was eager for guidance, and the cost of readings escalated quickly. “She would say I need more money to get rid of all this negativity—like, I need to fix you,” the woman said in describing the psychic to a reporter.Sisi YuIn some rare cases, exploitation can go far beyond theft, forcing victims into previously unimaginable acts. These relationships often start with grooming—the victim being offered kindness and attention—and then quickly shift into one-sided demands. The dynamics of control and manipulation depend on a power imbalance, and when the potential perpetrator is in a nontraditional form of authority with fewer guardrails in place, such as psychics and gurus, there may be a higher risk factor. Soon, victims may find themselves isolated, their resources depleted and their sense of reality in serious question.“The exploiter is very intentional and thoughtful about identifying what that person needs the most and offering it to them, training them to trust them, to believe in them,” says Korin Hoffman Arkin, director of survivor care and engagement for Polaris, a national anti-trafficking organization. “So then when [an exploiter] starts asking for things that are maybe not so wonderful, it’s confusing. It starts out small and starts to build.”While these stories might seem far-fetched, experts say that anyone can succumb to sophisticated manipulation tactics and the power of a trauma bond between victims and their tormentors. A false sense of security, of believing that one is invulnerable, creates its own risks, explains Laura Dryjanska, an associate professor at Rosemead School of Psychology of Biola University. “All of a sudden, you’re in much more danger because you’re not street smart,” she says. “People don’t realize that those psychological bonds can be much stronger than someone physically chained to a bed.”SMITH WASN’T SOMEONE who seemed poised to veer off the tracks. She had been raised by supportive parents in upper-middle-class comfort in Long Island, New York, and earned a 3.49 GPA in theater production and design at Ithaca College. She didn’t smoke and only drank occasionally; her friends in college called her “Mom” because, mature beyond her years, she took care of everyone. After graduating from college in 2006, Smith looked for work as a designer, stylist, and wardrobe supervisor. She was thrilled when she landed a job on the soap opera Guiding Light. Smith, who has long chestnut hair and a toothy smile, was finding her feet in the big city, dealing with the exhilarating victories and demoralizing setbacks of early adulthood, impatient to live up to her promise. And then she met Russell.Russell was just 24 when she beckoned Smith, and her background couldn’t have been more different. Her parents were Roma, a traditionally nomadic ethnic group from Eastern Europe, and she never attended school and is functionally illiterate. (As an adult, she would communicate by text using audio commands.) According to Russell, she and her siblings were forced at a young age by their parents, who were frequently violent, to support the family by selling trinkets on the streets and performing bogus psychic readings. By 15, already getting drunk and smoking marijuana, she says she was forced by her father into an informal marriage with her third cousin, Robert. Russell gave birth to the first of their four children at 16—though she eventually lost custody to Robert’s parents as she slid into multiple addictions.THIRTY PERCENT of Americans now consult astrology, tarot cards, or fortune tellers at least ONCE A YEARThe world had been kind to Smith, and she was brimming with trust. Russell had been primed for survival, trusting no one and empathizing with few. When Russell and Smith crossed paths, Russell wasn’t looking to help her; she needed a mark. But she framed her involvement in Smith’s life as an emergency intervention born of her concern. Did Smith have a way to get her hands on some money, fast? When Smith divulged her job loss, Russell encouraged her to apply for more jobs, stroking her ego like an old friend. Though Russell and Smith were roughly the same age, there was something maternal in her round face and soft, dark features. Russell had been groomed by her parents to understand how to win someone’s confidence, the gradual coaxing of attachment with the express purpose of betrayal. As the weeks grew into months, Russell turned herself into someone, maybe the only person, Smith could confide in.Soon, with Russell’s encouragement, Smith got a new job, and they celebrated together. But it wasn’t enough money to save Smith, spiritually speaking. What started out as a $40 reading soon became $500, and then $1,500, to continue “the work.”About three months into her relationship with Russell, Smith tentatively volunteered that her father had some money, and they came up with a plan to coax out some cash: Smith would tell her father that she was trying to improve her life, to get back on the right track. She would lie about needing help with tuition, therapy, and expensive sleep studies. Her family and friends had grown worried—Smith didn’t seem like herself—and her father agreed at first to help.Smith had never lied to her father before, but Russell explained that if she didn’t do “the work,” then Smith’s father would get sick and die. And Smith loved her father, right? Smith nodded vigorously, the worst-case scenario never far from her mind. She felt lucky to have someone like Russell helping her.Smith’s father started sending cash but was increasingly reluctant as Smith’s self-help bills mounted. Emboldened, Russell instructed Smith to tell her father that she needed $500,000 for a cutting-edge therapy that would erase her memories of an early-life trauma. Smith even sent her father a treatment plan she had assembled. Smith’s father demanded to speak with the therapist, so Russell had a relative play the part in a call that lasted more than an hour. Smith was also on the line, and when Russell didn’t think she sounded sufficiently distraught, Russell kicked her hard under the table to make her cry.BY 2011, TWO years into their relationship, it was hard for Smith to keep up with the demands and expense of Russell’s spiritual program, despite the money she was taking from her father. Smith was now working on the soap opera One Life to Live. Crediting Russell with helping her land the gig, she handed over almost her entire paycheck. Smith had grown emotionally dependent on Russell; she had mostly stopped hanging out with her friends and kept her coworkers at arm’s length with a hollow smile. But Smith’s relationship with Russell was becoming increasingly fraught. At first, it had felt like Russell wanted to help her, that they were solving a problem together. But now, Russell was pushier and more explicit about all the terrible things that might happen to Smith and the people she loved if she didn’t unquestioningly cooperate.As part of “the work,” Smith was told she had to clean Russell’s home and babysit her kids. Smith soon morphed into Russell’s personal assistant—booking vacations, arranging transportation, and running endless errands. She might be sent suddenly in the middle of the night to buy a TV or air conditioner, carrying the appliance on her back up the stairs to Russell’s apartment. Smith claimed Russell’s addiction to painkillers, muscle relaxers, and antianxiety meds inspired her to dispatch Smith to the city’s emergency rooms with a slew of made-up ailments—one time even telling her to pretend she’d been in a car accident—in order to get their hands on prescriptions.Russell was surrounded by what seemed like a tight-knit extended family. In addition to her own parents and siblings, there was her common-law husband, Robert; Robert’s brothers, Tony John and Corry Blue; and the brothers’ parents, Archie and Candy. By Smith’s account, the dynamic was far from wholesome: There were fistfights, destroyed TVs, thrown furniture, and smashed bottles. Smith claims she saw Russell’s mother use a Taser on Russell’s sister. Over time, the violence was turned on Smith if she questioned or disobeyed instructions. Russell would insist that the “devil” was in Smith and that she had to be “cleansed” through beatings. One time, Smith says she was forced naked into a freezing-cold bathtub while Russell lit various objects and then shook and hit her as if it were an exorcism.By this point, Russell had made two predictions that had (sort of) come true, and Smith was convinced of her psychic powers. Russell said that Smith’s father would have her incarcerated—a foretelling that was fulfilled when Smith went home and her father had her committed on a 72-hour psychiatric hold. When Smith was released from the hospital, she fled back to Russell, shaken by the prophecy.Sisi YuIn the midst of all of this, Smith found work in the wardrobe department of the TV series Madam Secretary. It was a dream job, but working full-time and often staying up until the middle of the night to meet Russell’s demands, Smith developed sleep-deprived vertigo. She was also drowning in debt. Smith says that Russell told her to rack up charges on her credit cards and even had Smith sign leases and rental agreements on the family’s behalf. She was told to buy a Bentley and pay for an apartment in Marina del Rey, California. The family took trips to Hawaii, Las Vegas, and Austin, attending Formula One races and a Stevie Wonder concert. Unable to keep up with payments, Smith saw her credit destroyed. But the family kept spending. Smith says Russell developed a taste for Louis Vuitton handbags and bought herself a $150,000 diamond ring. Her family posted their vacations on social media while Smith was back at home, paying for all of it.All the anxiety of Smith’s early years in the city, when she was trying to gain a foothold in life professionally and personally, had been supplanted by the relatively straightforward but almost impossible aim of keeping one psychic satisfied. Smith was constantly doing cleanup on her relationship with Russell and her family. Russell’s mother and brother-in-law stole keys to Smith’s apartment, ensuring she had nowhere to hide. Smith says that, once, trying to track her down, they showed up and threatened Smith’s neighbor. It wasn’t just terrifying; it was embarrassing.Smith soon realized it was futile to try to have any kind of life beyond Russell’s needs. She quit her job, despite feeling trapped between desperately wanting out of the relationship, shame at handing over so much control and stealing from her father, and terror at what might happen if she tried to leave.BY 2013, SMITH’S father had forked over more than $1 million. His relationship with his daughter badly frayed, he was disappointed and done. But Russell told Smith “the work” still wasn’t finished. Smith had quit her job, so Russell came up with a new way for her to make money.“Sex sells,” Russell told Smith, as if it were a demand of the universe and out of her hands. Russell instructed Smith to pack a suitcase and sent her to Washington, D.C., where she didn’t know anyone. She was instructed to start listing ads for sensual massage services—and the suggestion of more—on websites like Backpage.com. Soon, Smith was moving from hotel room to hotel room, seeing as many as 17 clients a day. Russell had become even more caustic and demanding, now frequently threatening violence. Smith claims that one night, Russell told her that if she didn’t come up with $10,000 quickly, Russell would infect her with HIV. Smith, estranged from her family and penniless, believed her. She hustled to make the payment.Smith was in a perpetual state of fear. Her body was broken and didn’t even feel like hers anymore, and she was still chronically sleep deprived, with Russell and her family tag-teaming with nearly 24-hour demands. Soon, Russell told Smith that the money she was bringing in from “massage services” still wasn’t enough to keep the demons at bay. She would have to work harder, finagling jewelry and other expensive goods from her clients. She instructed Smith to tell them that she was in debt to people who wanted to hurt her. She should give her clients an opportunity to save her. Russell cracked open a window into her own grooming techniques, the manipulation tactics that had been passed down in her own family like a silver tea set.After successfully conning a few men for extra cash, Smith met Daniel Zancan. He was married and had two kids and was the chief financial officer of his wife’s family business. Zancan, 34, with glasses and short brown hair, was, like Smith, relatively sheltered. He had graduated from a private high school, went to a good college, earned his accounting license, and made six figures. But despite his circumstances, he was looking for more—which led him to the racy ads on Backpage.com.Zancan quickly became one of Smith’s regulars and, despite himself, fell in love. To him, Smith was wounded and delicate, someone who needed taking care of. To Russell, Zancan was another gullible mark, someone whose dissatisfaction could be easily exploited. She told Smith that her powers “saw money” around Zancan.Smith was ordered to sell Zancan a tragic fictional narrative: that she had been abused by her father, who was now suing her. The court costs were bleeding her dry, and she had borrowed money from the wrong people—dangerous people, loan sharks. They wanted it back and sometimes held her against her will for days at a time, assaulting her. They threatened to do even worse.“People don’t realize that those PSYCHOLOGICAL BONDS can be much stronger than someone PHYSICALLY CHAINED to a bed.” Zancan jumped at the chance to be her knight in shining armor. But he had to be careful. He didn’t have a lot of money, and he couldn’t tip off his wife or in-laws. He started funneling small amounts to Smith—$2,000 here, $2,500 there. But in January 2017, Smith told him that she needed a lot more—$100,000. Russell had Smith tell Zancan that because she didn’t have the money, she could pay off the debt with a pair of expensive Rolex watches instead. Smith and Zancan made their way to a high-end jewelry store in northern Virginia, where Zancan filled out a credit application for a $10,000 line of credit—which wasn’t enough to buy even one of the watches.Smith’s phone buzzed with texts from Russell’s family posing as the angry loan sharks, and Zancan was terrified about what the men might do to her. (Some of the calls and texts were coming from Florida, where Russell and her family were vacationing. Smith had booked their trip.) In a state of desperation, an idea was floated: What if he tapped into his employer’s ample resources? As the CFO, he had access to their bank accounts.On January 11, 2017, Zancan embezzled $110,000 via a wire transfer he sent to Smith’s personal account. The next day, Smith converted the stolen funds into a cashier’s check, which she took to a check-cashing place in New York. Russell texted Smith to stay calm as she presented the large sum to the teller. “Don’t panic this is negativity it’s the devil trying to attack you and we will not except [sic] it rebuke it in the name of Jesus your powers are coming through,” dictated Russell. When the check was successfully cashed, Smith dutifully handed over every cent.Privately, Smith was fighting her instincts. But she knew better than to cross Russell. On more than one occasion, Smith says she tried to walk out of Russell’s apartment, only to have Russell grab her by the hair and drag her back in, leaving bruises and threatening to kill her. Once, Russell issued a vague threat that her own young son would be harmed if Smith left. So Smith stuck with the plan, Russell telling her it would take just a little more money, that they were doing all of this to help Smith, and that things would get better.THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN Smith and Russell, while dysfunctional and violent, was also strikingly affectionate. The now-yearslong spell was an incredibly potent mixture of fear and dependence. Smith didn’t just take Russell’s instructions; she clung to the tiniest morsels of care and actively sought Russell’s counsel. She spoke fondly of her to Zancan and other clients, telling them that the only bright spot in her life was her good friend, Gina. Isolated and unable to articulate how powerful Russell had become, she was intent on preserving a bond that seemed essential. The two were completely enmeshed, Smith doing Russell’s bidding for scraps of approval. It had to feel a bit like love when nothing else in Smith’s life did.But Russell was firmly in control. Smith says that when it came to Zancan, Russell was clear: “Make sure he loves you enough that he would do anything for you.” Russell and her extended family continued spending lavishly, buying Louis Vuitton luggage, Tiffany and Cartier jewelry, and Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet watches. Smith was forced to turn up the pressure on Zancan, telling him she needed $500,000 in cash.One night, while Zancan was driving home from work, Smith called and said a loan shark named “Tony” (impersonated by Gina’s brother-in-law, Tony John) wanted to speak with him. Hammering home the threat, he said he knew where Zancan lived and worked. “Do I need to tell you where your kids go to school?” asked “Tony.” Zancan, panicking, agreed to steal the money and make the payment. Later, when he was en route to deliver the cash, one of Robert’s brothers took a picture of his license plate while he was in transit, which the family had Smith text to him. They wanted him to know that he was being watched.U.S. District Court for the District of ColumbiaSurveillance video of Gina Russell submitted in her federal court case.Inspired by their new tactic, Russell and her family created additional characters to shake down Zancan. “Sammie” and “Santino” were even more sadistic; they gleefully told Zancan that they planned to beat Smith up—and worse. Zancan was breaking under the pressure. On February 5, 2017, Smith texted Russell in the middle of the night to tell her that Zancan was sobbing in their hotel room. “Tell him not to cry tell him that you love him very much,” Russell texted back. A few doors away, in their own room at the same hotel, Russell and Robert were taking videos of their young daughter posing with fat stacks of Zancan’s cash.Later, Russell texted Smith to ask how Zancan was doing. Better, responded Smith. “We did good,” texted Smith. “Love you.” Russell texted back three crying-laughing emojis. “Love you,” she added. Russell then told Smith to delete her messages and get a burner phone. Shortly after, Tony John, impersonating a mobster in a call with Smith and Zancan, convinced Zancan to produce $1.6 million in gold bars.Zancan was terrified but committed to a future with Smith. They would get through this mess and live happily ever after. On February 27, 2017, Smith texted Russell a picture. It was her left hand, her ring finger now heavy with a massive diamond engagement ring. Russell asked how many carats it was, and Smith guessed two, including the diamond-studded band. “Remember don’t fall in love and get too emotionally attached he only is doing this because you are emotionally supporting him,” texted Russell. Smith promised she was only “playing the part,” that she knew the difference between real and fake love.Zancan had put aside $80,000 in gold bars that he hoped to use to start a new life with Smith. But soon after he put it in his car, Smith called to tell him a turf war had broken out between the gangsters. Santino had shot Tony. Santino wanted another $50,000 or Smith wouldn’t be allowed to leave. He threatened to rape her. Zancan liquidated the gold bars and handed $50,000 over to Smith at a Starbucks near Times Square. She gave it to Russell. Zancan and Smith drove to a hotel in Baltimore to spend the night, but not long after they checked in, the family started texting with more demands.Zancan couldn’t take it anymore. He left Baltimore and started driving toward Texas. He was planning on collecting fake IDs there that he and Smith could use to escape for good. But when Zancan didn’t show up for work, his colleagues started digging around in his records and discovered the missing money. On April 6, 2017, Zancan was arrested. He had stolen more than $4 million, and he told the FBI everything. In a letter to the court, his parents suggested that Zancan’s vulnerability was being unusually trusting. “It is a good quality until it isn’t,” they wrote.The FBI wanted to interview Russell and Smith, and Russell’s family hustled to come up with a cover story. They also decided that Russell, now 28, and Smith would get married, creating spousal privilege and ensuring that Smith couldn’t be compelled to testify against Russell. Smith was told to get burner phones to create “fake” conversations with Russell, crafting the impression that they were in love. They married at City Hall in New York.But that wasn’t enough. According to Russell’s defense team, Robert’s mother, Candy, coerced Smith and her daughter-in-law to sign a notarized confession implicating themselves and absolving herself, her husband, and her sons of any illegal acts. Before Smith, now 32, went to her FBI interview in late April, the family threatened that she would spend the rest of her life in prison if she didn’t do exactly what she was told. Candy handed her two Valiums and told her it would help her “appear relaxed” during the interrogation. The Evans family (Robert’s brother) also made Smith sign a notarized confession and film a statement that absolved Russell and her family of any responsibility. But it wasn’t enough to assuage the family’s concerns that Smith might turn on them or that Zancan might successfully implicate them.ON OCTOBER 19, 2017, a federal grand jury returned an indictment against Smith; she was arrested six days later. After eight years of terror, Smith felt a wave of relief as she was taken into custody. She was assigned to a maximum-security section of the D.C. Jail, where she bunked with a convicted murderer, and her stress-related chronic cough almost immediately ceased.With so many details to disentangle, it would take another six months for a grand jury to return a 13-count indictment of fraud and extortion charges against Russell and her family. Russell and Robert split up, and the unified front fractured. Robert, his brothers, and his parents pleaded guilty to a litany of charges (Robert Evans and his brother Tony John Evans pleaded guilty to interference with interstate commerce by extortion; Corry Blue Evans pleaded guilty to bank fraud; Archie Kaslov pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud; Candy Evans pleaded guilty to tampering with a witness by corrupt persuasion or misleading conduct) and accepted sentences that ranged from one to five years.”Russell eventually agreed to plead guilty to one count of interference with interstate commerce by extortion. She convinced prosecutors to propose a limited prison sentence, in light of her dramatic upbringing and her promise to stay out of trouble. She received permission to live in Los Angeles, supposedly to help an ailing family member. But in 2024, Russell was arrested in connection to the young musician’s case. Prosecutors immediately recognized a pattern in the musician’s account: promising spiritual healing for steep fees, encouraging the theft of almost $200,000 from the musician’s wealthy father, and eventually driving her into sex work before her instincts had a chance to catch up. Russell’s L.A. arrest violated the conditions of her relatively lax sentencing deal, and it was revoked by the court. On July 18, 2024, she was sentenced to more than 10 years and five months in prison, which she is presently serving in Oklahoma. She was also ordered to pay $4,217,542.86 in restitution.As Russell’s court battle played out, Smith was able to convince prosecutors that while she’d participated in extortion schemes, she’d also been a victim who had handed all her money and power to a woman who had threatened and exploited her. (The marriage between the pair was annulled in 2019.)On September 9, 2024, Smith pleaded to one count of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud and was sentenced to time served and 36 months of supervised release. “Coercion is a complex thing,” noted Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, at Smith’s sentencing. “But what I have learned…is that under the right combination of stress, pressure, and psychological circumstances, seemingly normal people will do very abnormal things.”Since her release from Russell’s grip, Smith has become an anti-trafficking advocate and now works for 3Strands, an organization dedicated to combating trafficking through education and reintegration programs. Last year, Smith provided testimony to a congressional task force in support of The Trafficking Survivors Relief Act, which was passed into law in January 2026 and allows victims of sex trafficking to have their arrest/conviction records vacated and expunged—Smith seems to have availed herself of this law as her criminal history is no longer publicly available. (The court records in her case were accessed and saved for this article before public access was removed.) Smith declined to comment for this article; instead, the above is based on the voluminous court records filed by both prosecutors and defendants in the Russell, Smith, and Zancan prosecutions.In January 2026, Smith was pardoned by President Donald Trump.It’s also worth noting that though Smith identifies as a victim of human trafficking, none of the people involved in her odyssey were charged or convicted of human or sex trafficking.“There is no black and white survivor story,” she wrote in her testimony, alluding to the various definitions—both legal and informal—of the word. “There are all types of trafficking in this world.... I am determined to use my lived experience from these horrific years to bring meaningful change and protect others.”*This story uses a pseudonym at the request of the victim’s lawyer.