A self-proclaimed psychic took $1.6 million from a grieving Houston medical student over seven years
Sherry Tina Uwanawich, who also went by the name Jacqueline Miller, met her victim in Houston, Texas, in 2007, while the woman, a medical student who had been suffering from depression after her mother's death, was especially vulnerable. Uwanawich became the woman's confidante, then told her a witch's curse was responsible for her mother's death and threatened her family, and that lifting it required large sums of money for crystals, candles and meditation ceremonies. The scheme continued even after Uwanawich moved from Texas to South Florida, with the victim sending money by Western Union and bank transfer for seven years, until Uwanawich admitted in early 2014 that she had invented the curse. She pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and was sentenced in Miami in September 2019 to three years and four months in federal prison, along with an order to pay $1.6 million in restitution.
- Year
- 2019
- Where
- United States
- Outcome
- Sentenced
- Reported loss
- $1.6 million
- Victims
- 1
- Schemes
- Psychic and fortune-teller fraud
- Last reviewed
- 2026-10-04
The facts, as recorded
- Sherry Tina Uwanawich, also known as Jacqueline Miller, met her victim, a Houston medical student, in 2007.
- The victim had been suffering from depression after her mother's death; Uwanawich told her a witch's curse was to blame and that the curse also threatened the rest of her family.
- Uwanawich said she needed 'large sums of money' to buy crystal balls, candles and other items for meditation ceremonies to lift the curse, and that harm would come to the victim and her family if she stopped paying.
- The victim continued sending money by Western Union and directly to accounts after Uwanawich relocated from Texas to South Florida, over a relationship that lasted about seven years.
- The scheme ended in early 2014, when Uwanawich told the victim she had made up the curse.
- Uwanawich previously pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.
- She was sentenced in Miami in September 2019 to three years and four months (40 months) in federal prison and ordered to pay restitution of $1.6 million, the full amount taken.
- Bob Nygaard, a retired New York police officer who works as a private investigator specializing in psychic fraud cases, told reporters covering the case that confidence crimes exploiting a victim's fears are common nationwide, saying of victims: 'Don't look down on the victim. Credit the con.'
Why this case matters
This is the clearest single-victim, single-operator example on this page: one woman, already grieving and vulnerable, paying one self-proclaimed psychic for seven years before learning the entire premise was invented. It shows the fraud does not require a family network or an elaborate operation to extract a life-changing sum from one person over time.
Seven years inside one relationship
Unlike a one-off reading, Uwanawich maintained an ongoing personal relationship with her victim for years, including after relocating to a different state, which let the “curse” story keep generating new rounds of payment long after a single transaction would have ended.
The caveat
Sherry Tina Uwanawich pleaded guilty to wire fraud and was sentenced by a federal court; this is a fully proven and concluded legal outcome, not an allegation. The victim is not named here, consistent with this site’s policy of not naming victims who have not themselves gone public.
Sources
- Florida woman psychic family curse sentenced. Fox News. Accessed 2026-10-04. Supports: Uwanawich's alias, the 2007 Houston meeting, the victim's identity as a depressed medical student grieving her mother, the curse pretext tied to the mother's death, the crystals-and-candles cover story, the move to South Florida, the 2014 confession, the guilty plea to wire fraud, and private investigator Bob Nygaard's quote.
- Florida woman gets prison for $1.6 million family curse scam. Tampa Bay Times (Associated Press). Accessed 2026-10-04. Supports: The three-years-and-four-month sentence, the September 2019 Miami sentencing, the $1.6 million amount, the restitution order, the 2007 Houston meeting, and the 2014 end of the scheme.