A fake psychic's extortion pushed a Maryland man to embezzle $4 million from his DC employer
Gina Rita Russell, then 35, of New York and Los Angeles, began the scheme with an ordinary psychic reading she gave a New York woman in Manhattan in 2009, warning of looming misfortune that could only be fixed with money. As the woman's family funds ran out, Russell escalated the scheme into coerced sex work, and then, with her common-law husband Robert Evans, his brothers and their parents, into extorting a Maryland man who had fallen for the woman, telling him she owed money to dangerous people and threatening his children. Between January and March 2017 he embezzled more than $4 million from his Washington, DC employer to pay the group, some of it in gold bars. The FBI's Washington Field Office investigated. Charges against the group were filed in April 2018. US District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan sentenced Russell to 125 months (just over 10 years) in federal prison and ordered more than $4 million in restitution. Robert Evans and his brother Tony John Evans each received five years for interstate extortion; their brother Corry Blue Evans received 41 months for bank fraud; coconspirators Archie Kaslov and Candy Evans were convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and witness tampering, respectively.
- Year
- 2024
- Where
- United States
- Outcome
- Sentenced
- Reported loss
- $4.0 million
- Victims
- Not stated in the sources
- Schemes
- Psychic and fortune-teller fraud
- Last reviewed
- 2026-10-04
The facts, as recorded
- Gina Rita Russell, then 35, of New York and Los Angeles, gave a New York woman a psychic reading in Manhattan in 2009, telling her that misfortune was coming that only large payments could prevent.
- As the first victim's family money ran out, Russell pushed her into sex work to keep the payments coming.
- Russell, her common-law husband Robert Evans, his brothers, and their parents then extorted a Maryland man who had become infatuated with the first victim, telling him she was in debt to dangerous people and her life, and his children, were at risk if he didn't pay.
- Between January and March 2017, the Maryland man embezzled more than $4 million from his Washington, DC employer to meet the group's demands, paying in cash and gold bars.
- The FBI's Washington Field Office investigated; the group, including Russell, Robert Evans, Tony John Evans, Corry Blue Evans, Archie Kaslov and Candy Evans, were charged in April 2018.
- US District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan sentenced Russell to 125 months, just over 10 years, in federal prison, with a three-year term of supervised release to follow, and ordered her to pay more than $4 million in restitution.
- Robert Evans, 37, and Tony John Evans, 35, were each sentenced to five years in prison for interference with interstate commerce by extortion.
- Their younger brother, Corry Blue Evans, 31, was sentenced to 41 months for bank fraud.
- Archie Kaslov was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and Candy Evans was convicted of witness tampering, each facing separate penalties for their roles.
Why this case matters
This is the most recent sentencing documented on this page and shows the fraud escalating beyond a simple cash-for-cleansing exchange into coerced sex work and then extortion serious enough to push a third party into a multimillion-dollar white-collar crime of his own. The “psychic” framing was the opening move in a much larger, multi-year conspiracy, not the whole scheme.
A second victim’s crime becomes part of the case
The Maryland man who embezzled $4 million was himself drawn in by affection for the first victim and fear for her safety, not by any claim about his own fortune. His embezzlement shows how this kind of fraud can reach well beyond the person a “psychic” first targets, pulling in people connected to that victim who never had a reading themselves.
The caveat
Gina Rita Russell and her coconspirators were convicted and sentenced by a federal judge; this is a fully proven and concluded legal outcome, not an allegation. The Maryland man who embezzled the money is not named here because, as the person who paid the money rather than one of the people who extorted it, his role in this summary is that of a victim.
Sources
- Former New York and Los Angeles Resident Sentenced to Over 10 Years for $4 Million Extortion Scheme Involving Bogus Psychic Services. Hoodline. Accessed 2026-10-04. Supports: The full case summary: Russell's age and background, the 2009 Manhattan psychic reading that began the scheme, the escalation to sex work and then to extorting the Maryland man, the threats against his children, the 2017 embezzlement of more than $4 million including gold bars, the April 2018 charges, the FBI Washington Field Office investigation, Judge Tanya S. Chutkan's sentence of 125 months and over $4 million restitution, and the co-defendants' names, charges and sentences.