"You wanta make real money, you gotta start a religion!" -- L. Ron Hubbard

This Chicago Tribune story about the arrest of some fortune tellers in DuPage County demonstrates how money changes everything -- how our justice system treats penny-ante scammers much differently from scammers who are part of a science fiction hack's multi-national, multi-billion dollar, tax-exempt scheme.
[Note: The hyper-links are mine].

2 Naperville-area tarot card readers accused of 'curse' fraud -- Naperville-area business owners in DuPage jail

Two Naperville-area tarot card readers were being held in lieu of $750,000 bail each Monday on charges they defrauded customers by convincing them they were cursed, then offering expensive "counseling," DuPage County authorities said.

Tracy Tan, 37, and Eric Tan, 34, were arrested Friday after police executed a search warrant for their business, Psychic Tarot Card Reading, at 9S275 Illinois Highway 59, according to the sheriff's office. ***

Police said the couple used the business to prey on the misfortune of people who came to get cards read.

"Tracy Tan would convince the customers that they had a curse on them, and that she was the only one who could fix their problems," police said in a news release.

"During this 'counseling,' she would charge her victims thousands of dollars for her services and products, which provided them with a false sense of hope." ***

Both defendants were being held in the county jail and were scheduled to appear in court April 7.

And I hope that the 18th Judicial Circuit is up to the task of distinguishing "fraudulent" tarot card readers from other tarot card readers.