Mariana Mijailovic posed as a shaman to defraud her victims, working with her 19-year-old daughter, Anna, to convince them to part with their jewelry because it was cursed and only brought them misfortune. The two would look for wealthy women on the streets of Munich, in Germany, and Vienna, in Austria, selling them stories about how they could get rid of the evil spirits in their precious jewelry, for a fee.
Prosecutors showed how Mijailovic and her daughter terrorized their victims with visions of their loved ones suffering from serious illnesses or dying in tragic accidents, promising that all of this could be prevented if the jewelry was cleansed in shamanic rituals that only they could perform.
Once Mariana and Anna got their hands on the jewelry and the money required to perform their shamanic rituals, they cut all contact with the victims. According to documents presented by Austrian prosecutors, the pair defrauded at least 19 victims in Germany and Austria over a period of 10 years.
According to The Telegraph, one victim paid Mijailovic over $673,734 after believing she was possessed by demons, and another woman paid $65,762 hoping her cancer would disappear. She sadly died of her illness. they Authorities believe they obtained more than $11 million from their victims in total.
After gathering enough proof about the shamans, Austrian police raided the Mijailovic residence in Vienna, arresting Anna, Mariana’s 48-year-old husband, and her 29-year-old son. The matriarch of the family is still on the run.
When raiding the family residence, police found 25 kilograms of gold bars, watches, wedding rings, and bundles of Swiss and American banknotes, as well as a fleet of 14 cars. However, the court ruled that the shamans only had to pay a little over $2 million, because prosecutors couldn’t prove that it was all obtained fraudulently. Their lawyers claimed that it came from gifts, inheritances and real estate.
