Ms. Luna admits scam - and there's a hefty payback in her future

The Vancouver Province

Theresa Johnson, who marketed herself as 'Ms. Luna,' was arrested at her Sherbrooke Street house in Vancouver earlier this month on a Canada-wide warrant. She was returned to Toronto to face six charges of fraud over $5,000 and two counts of failing to appear in court.

Johnson, who moved her business to Vancouver after not showing up at her own criminal trial in Toronto last year, pleaded guilty and was given a 12-month conditional sentence.

She was first charged in Toronto in 1997. The Canada-wide warrant was issued on Dec. 22, 1999 after she missed the trial.

The 39 year old is under house arrest at her father's Toronto house and was ordered to pay back $93,000 to six victims.

Toronto Det. Const. Virgil Lepinski said Johnson has already paid back $70,000 of the swindled money is under a court order to pay $2,000 a month for the next year.

'The victims are not rich people. They are ordinary retired people who couldn't afford to lose that money,' said Lepinski, who called Johnson's crimes 'big-time scams.'

Lepinski estimates that Johnson--who identified herself to Lepinski as a gypsy defrauded the victims of about $194,000 in 1996.

I'm glad it's all dealt with. One of the victoms was crying-he never thought he would see a penny of his money,' Lepinski said.

Vancouver police say they are not investigating Johnson but any victims can complain to the fraud squad in writing.

'Ms. Luna' pursued customers in ads taken out in the Indo-Canadian Voice, the Asian Post and on FM Indo Canadian radio station. Johnson still owes the Voice $700 for ads she didn't pay for.

Her ads claimed she could reunite separated lovers. She promised to restore luck, remove evil influences and call enemies by name.

A woman who visited her home on business said Johnson saw her clients in a basement room decorated with candles and pictures including portraits of Hindu gods. Johnson claimed that a member of the Ross Street Sikh temple prayed at her house.

The woman, a business owner, was told Johnson had 40 clients in Vancouver.

One of the Ontario fraud charges involved a couple who went to Luna when their daughter became pregnant, said Lepinski. Luna advised the family that the baby would be deformed but she could rectify the problem with cash.

'She indicated she had to take the money to a church and have it blessed. She had to leave the money in the church,' Lepinski said.

Another family was scammed when Luna promised that a payment of $40,000 would help rid a member of her addiction to alcohol.

She was known to put cash in vials of holy water and claim that the bills would multiply.