Gina Marie Marks (born January 25, 1973) is an American

psychic A psychic is a person who claims to use powers rooted in parapsychology, such as extrasensory perception (ESP), to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance; or who performs acts that a ...

and convicted

fraudster In law, fraud is intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover mone ...

. Using the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

of Regina Milbourne, she co-authored '' Miami Psychic: Confessions of a Confidante'', a memoir published by

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

in 2006. In August 2018, Marks' career as a psychic con-artist, and the decade-long pursuit by detective

Bob Nygaard {{Infobox person , name = Bob Nygaard , image = File:Private Investigator Bob Nygaard.jpg , image_size = , caption = Nygaard in 2015 , birth_date = , birth_place = Queens, New York, U.S. , death_date = , death_pla ...

to bring her to justice, were portrayed on an episode of the CBS series ''Pink Collar Crimes'' titled "The Psychic Didn't See Him Coming". In 2018 Marks pleaded guilty to

defrauding In law, fraud is intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover mone ...

five victims out of more than $340,000, but blamed her prosecution on racism against

Romani people {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Romani people , image = , image_caption = , flag = Roma flag.svg , flag_caption = Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress , po ...

. In September 2018, she was sentenced to six years in prison.

Criminal activity

Marks has had numerous arrests and convictions in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

for defrauding clients out of large sums of money while claiming to use psychic powers to help them: * In 2007, Marks pleaded no contest to grand theft charges related to an agreement to "cleanse souls" for a total of $65,000. She was then put on probation for eighteen months and ordered to return the money back to her clients. In 2009, she was arrested again for a similar crime. * In 2010, she was again arrested in Florida for a defrauding of over $300,000 and for violating probation. A month later, while still in Broward County Jail, she was arraigned again on further fraud charges which involved another victim who came forward due to media exposure following Marks' earlier arrest. * On September 1, 2010, Marks pleaded guilty to grand theft and two counts of organized fraud. In addition she admitted to violating her probation. At her sentencing, Marks handed over a $400,000 check to partially repay her former clients. * On April 2, 2014, in another case, Marks was sentenced to 10 years of probation. * In 2018, Marks was convicted of stealing more than $340,000 from five victims over three years using the pseudonym Natalie Miller. Although she pleaded guilty to psychic fraud charges, Marks blamed her misfortune on

anti-Romani sentiment Anti-Romani sentiment (also called antigypsyism, anti-Romanyism, antiziganism, ziganophobia, or Romaphobia) is an ideology which consists of hostility, prejudice, discrimination, racism, and xenophobia which is specifically directed at Romani ...

, saying "They're racist on my culture. We do have power. We're not allowed to talk about it." Investigating a psychic fraud case involving Marks in 2008 marked the beginning of South

private investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI; also known as a private detective, an inquiry agent or informally a wikt:private eye, private eye) is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. ...

Bob Nygaard's "psychic hunting" career. Nygaard also brought Marks to justice in 2010 and 2016, culminating in her 2018 conviction for the theft of over $340,000. In September 2018, Marks was sentenced to six years in prison and ordered to pay restitution to her victims, with the judge stating that Marks' actions were premeditated and she preyed on vulnerable people.

''Pink Collar Crimes''

On August 11, 2018,

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

broadcast an episode of its true crime TV show, ''Pink Collar Crimes'', titled "The Psychic Didn't See Him Coming". The episode recounts the story of private eye

and his numerous pursuits of Marks to obtain justice for his clients between 2008 and 2018, which culminated in Mark's 2018 conviction.

''Miami Psychic''

Marks is the co-author of '' Miami Psychic: Confessions of a Confidante'', published by

in 2006. The book purports to be a true

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...

about a

named Regina Milbourne, who used her supposed

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...

gifts to help many of Miami's least desirable element: drug dealers, thieves, murderers and

pedophiles Pedophilia ( alternatively spelled paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of pubert ...

. Regina claims that she "comes clean" in the book, "divulging the unimaginable horrors and shocking confessions that she witnessed throughout her career".

Personal life

Marks is married to Sunny Miller, and has a daughter, Hillarie Miller.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marks, Gina Literary forgeries 1973 births Living people Prisoners and detainees of Florida American people convicted of fraud American psychics American Romani people

Criminal activity

''Pink Collar Crimes''

''Miami Psychic''

Personal life

See also

References