Fortuneteller Accepts Guilt, Makes Her Bail

A Sherman Oaks fortuneteller pleaded no contest Wednesday to grand-theft charges alleging that she took $40,000 from four customers to lift evil spells.

Laura Johns, 28, professionally known as Sheena, had previously pleaded not guilty to four counts of grand theft in a scheme in which she purported to be able to rid customers and their loved ones of curses.

In one case, a 32-year-old Mexican immigrant maintained that Johns told him he would die of cancer within three days if he didn’t give her $27,000 to lift the curse.

Bond for Johns was reduced from $60,000 to $5,000 after her plea Wednesday in Van Nuys Superior Court. Sammy Weiss, Johns’ attorney, said the Gypsy Council, whose members number about 2,000, posted bail, and Johns was released after her plea.

Weiss said the decision to change her not-guilty plea to no contest centered on the Gypsy Council’s offer to help Johns pay restitution to the defrauded victims.

Although Johns could receive a maximum sentence of three years in prison, Weiss said he is confident that his client will be sentenced to probation and ordered to pay restitution to the four victims. He said he could have won in trial but did not want to subject his client, who is six months pregnant, to any more prison time.

Weiss said that Johns, in Sybil Brand Institute since her April arrest, was beaten there by several inmates, experienced vaginal bleeding, hurt her head in a fall and lost 25 pounds.

“I could try this case and battle it out, but I could not take that risk here. She would have to be in jail for at least another 60 days, and I could not take the risk of losing her life,” Weiss said.

H said that, after meeting with the Gypsy Council, he was persuaded to change his strategy. “They don’t want to see one of their own people die,” he said.

A plea of no contest under California criminal law is equal to a guilty plea but does not serve as an admission of guilt in any civil suits stemming from the case.

Johns will be sentenced Oct. 18.