'Psychic' conman jailed for swindling 1.3m Americans
The scheme pulled in more than $175m (C$242m; £141m) from 1.3 million American victims.
A jury found Runner guilty in June on several charges related to the scheme.
“Patrice Runner’s extravagant lifestyle, borne on the backs of millions of older and vulnerable Americans, has come to an end,” said Chris Nielsen, a US postal inspector in Philadelphia. He called the 10-year term an “appropriate punishment”.
According to authorities, the Canadian and French dual citizen directed the scam for the entirety of its 20-year operation, directing co-conspirators who ran the daily operations.
Under his scheme, millions of people received letters from Runner and his associates falsely claiming to be personal correspondence sent by well-known so-called “psychics” Maria Duval and Patrick Guerin.
The letters, prosecutors say, promised the recipient they could achieve a life of great prosperity with their help.
The recipients – mostly elderly and vulnerable Americans – were instructed to send money in exchange for an “astral-clairvoyant forecast”.
