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PROVO — A Syracuse woman was charged Monday with accepting money to "bless" other people's property and perform healing ceremonies, but not returning their personal belongings or curing them.
Sarai Desiree Castillo de Churon, 40, was arrested last month and is now charged in 4th District Court with three counts of communications fraud, a second-degree felony; plus six counts of theft by deception, three second-degree felonies and three class A misdemeanors.
Prosecutors have identified seven victims who paid Castillo de Churon more than $24,700 last fall, according to charging documents. Provo police believe Castillo de Charon took a total of about $32,000 in personal property and cash.
One woman paid $5,000 to have less than $500 worth of jewelry blessed. Three more paid a total of $2,400 to also have their jewelry blessed, the charges state. "All three gave jewelry to (Castillo de Churon) with a value less than $500."
Another woman and her husband paid more than $12,000 to heal the wife.
"The healing services included blessing perfume and jewelry and passing an egg over (the woman's) head then cracking it open into a bag," the charges state. "The 'healing' did not work."
Another victim paid $5,300 for a similar healing service, according to the charges.
All of the victims reported to police that when they went to Castillo de Churon's Provo home in September to either collect their jewelry or get a refund, she was gone.
Police arrested her in February after one of the victims found her in Syracuse running "a similar scam," the charges say.
