Lower East Side Women Hoodwinked with Street Exorcism Scams
Scams abound when living in this concrete jungle, but this one is too crazy to be true. Call it an exorcism of money.
Apparently a trio of middle-aged women on the Lower East Side are duping elderly Asian women into handing over valuables with the cockamamie promise of “removing the evil spirits.” Fifth Precinct detectives are already on the hunt for the hoodwinking crooks, described rather broadly as “Asian women in their forties,” who employed this same trick a half-dozen times in the last couple months.
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This house is clear
Here’s how it goes down: the suspects first find a target, then offer to remove alleged evil spirits/bad luck by performing blessing rituals on personal valuables. They then take off with the goods.
The Villager reports this week that the latest strike transpired on April 30 at Doyers and Bowery, where a 62-year-old was robbed. Previous targets included an 85-year-old outside 193 Eldridge and a 63-year-old at the corner of Orchard and East Houston.