Psychic con artist Rachel Lee, 44, and her elderly victim Ralph Raines Jr., is the subject of a new ABC 20/20 episode tonight. The case is quite shocking and bizarre and seeks to expose one of the nation’s most elaborate scheme to bilk a man out of his money. You can watch how the case unfolded tonight on ABC at 10 p,m. eastern/9 p.m. central time.
Ralph Rainey was convinced that he was married to Porsha Lee and had a child. Some say til this day it’s hard for him to believe that the relationship was all fake.
Rachel Lee’s con game was exposed last year after a decade of swindling millionaire Ralph Raines Jr., out of the family money. Prosecutors say that Rachel Lee did what a lot of gold-digging women do, she dressed up, made herself look sexually appealing, and set her sights on Ralph Raines.
The relationship started out innocent enough. After meeting Lee, Ralph Raines was instantly attracted to her. She was easy to talk and very easy on the eye. With that, he began to divulge private parts of his life with his new friend. One bit of information included the death of his mother and the fact that he was an heir to a timber-log business, according to KOIN .
And that was all Rachel Lee needed to hear. The two quickly became fast friends. Soon, Ralph Raines trusted the California woman enough to become caretaker of his 86-year old father, Ralph Raines Sr.
Using her so-called psychic abilities, Rachel Lee enticed Raines to make shady business decisions, which included the purchase of a mansion, and the sale of one of his family’s businesses.
The more she made psychic predictions, the more money he gave her. She would tell his fortune again, and he would continue to “gift” her. And that’s not all. She also slowly became his bookkeeper—eventually gaining complete control of his finances. It gets worse.
The scheme became more elaborate when she introduced him to a woman named Mary, a pretty blonde sexy young thing who seduced him. Before long, the two were married with a child—-almost. Turns out, “Mary” was not a real person. “Mary” was actually Porsha Lee, the 24-year old daughter of psychic Rachel Lee. Prosecutors say that “ Mary ” faked the pregnancy and was never legally married to Ralph. And that child that she presented as theirs was actually belonged to a family member.
She duped him good. Luckily for him, police were able to track her and warn him while he was still alive. Sadly, many cases like these tend to end up in murder for the poor victims—-unfortunately.
Some words of caution. It is rarely ever a good idea to reveal personal financial information with other people, let alone the idea of allowing another adult to move into the home, especially when a person does not have close family around.
Con artists look for these vulnerabilities in people. They have a keen sense of how to manipulate their way into a person’s life. The best advice to date was once stated by an 80-year old woman who always advised her children and grandchildren of the following:
“Keep people out of your house and out of your business—period.”
Many people refer to Rainey as an “old fool” who should have known better. Others say that Ralph Rainey was an innocent victim who was looking for love in all the wrong places. Don’t forget to tune in to ABC’s 20/20 tonight to see how the fake psychic was caught and eventually sent to prison.
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