Paranormal Fraud Series – Special Episode – Elizabeth Perliss – Bankrupted Victim of a Convicted Criminal with an extensive criminal history who is, as of 2010, the FOUNDER of a large organization of paranormal investigation teams based in NEW ENGLAND.
This episode of “Maine Ghost Hunters Presents: ZeroLux Radio” we present to you, a very special segment in our “Fraud in Paranormal” series. In a neverending effort to bring awareness and education to the community of paranormal, most particularly our neighboring NEW ENGLAND teams, Maine Ghost Hunters team leader MGH-Tony has located, made contact, and chatted live, with one of the many victims of a Paranormal Investigation Organization Leader who’s criminal history extends 15+ years. This eye opening show gives our listeners a very rare look into what it’s like to be the victim of a person whose criminal record includes theft, fraud, and domestic violence. Most concerning of all, for New England residents and our peers within the community of paranormal, is this person has taken on the role of Psychic, Ghost Hunter, and has established herself as a NEW ENGLAND BASED International Paranormal Investigation Organization FOUNDER & Leader. We invite you to listen to this show and, please, share it with your friends and family, especially if you live in New England. Word is out, and it’s spreading steadily.
Who is this organization leader?
Our guest names the person
What Organization is this person the FOUNDER of, and currently heads/leads?
Our guest names the organization
What types of crimes has this person been convicted of?
Our guest exposes the crimes and the criminal
And how concerning is this person’s criminal history?
Our guest exposes a lifelong pattern of anti-social behavior
Listen to this podcast to hear what it’s like to be the victim of an individual whose criminal history is so extensive it spans through multiple decades and numerous states.
If you’re a team leader
Don’t skip this show
If you’re a team member
Don’t skip this show
If you’re a client of a paranormal team
Don’t skip this show
Partial Transcription
04:30 [Introduction]
Tony: Elizabeth, are you there?
Elizabeth: Yes, I am
Tony: How are you doing this evening, Elizabeth?
Elizabeth: I’m doing well, thank you
05:18 [Elizabeth Perliss identifies Amy Morrison]
Tony: So, Elizabeth, you and I chatted a little over a year ago, now. And, y’know, I contacted you with regard to an issue that I was having with somebody in my local area and I found your name by doing some background research on this person, and found, uh, that she had committed some crimes and those crimes were connected to, y’know, some theft from you and some, uhm, dishonesty and some fraud. And I contacted you and I wanted to get some more details about that. And, uh, you were very open. I mean, you were, you had experienced – y’know – a kind of tragic event with her, and, uhm, went through uh, kind of a miserable period of time because of her. And I was hoping maybe you could share some of that with us this evening.
Elizabeth: Well, certainly, I’d be more than happy to. Because I wouldn’t want other people to experience what I did.
Tony: Exactly, and that’s our – that’s our whole purpose here. Is to try and y’know, build awareness of, y’know, the past events and, and current behaviors and see if we can protect the rest of the general public as well as the paranormal community. So uhm, maybe you can share with us the name of this individual who we’re speaking about.
Elizabeth: Well, the person I knew used the name Amy Morrison. And she acted and appeared to be very honest. And turned out, she wasn’t.
07:41 [Amy claims abuse – overnights on couch – stealing beings within a week]
Tony: How did things transgress from there? So you met Amy – you both went for an interview at the same location for a job. You both got hired. And you began working.
Elizabeth: Well, we became friendly and uhm, she started telling me that this boy she was living with, this man she was living with, was abusing her. And, y’know, going on about that, and I felt badly for her. And, I don’t like anybody being abused, so I started inviting her to stay at my house for short periods of time. I had an apartment. It was a one bedroom but I had a sleeper sofa. And. Uhm, I told her she could use it. And so, things started disappearing in my apartment. First some jewelry, and then some movies. And, uhmmm, and then my jewelry miraculously came back in weird places, an uh, she seemed to think my cat had gotten in and, whatever container my jewelry was in and that’s why it had – was on the floor, in weird places.
Tony: Ahh
Elizabeth: But, my cats never did that. So. I, being a very trusting person I just s- y’know, let it pass and didn’t consider the fact that she had taken it and then when she realized I had caught onto it, brought it back to make it look like she hadn’t stolen it.
Tony: Right
Elizabeth: But, uhm
Tony: Now, you mentioned when you first met her she was a very nice person, very trusting, and she kind of gained your confidence by telling you she was being abused by her boyfriend.
Elizabeth: Right
Tony: Yep
Elizabeth: But she, uhm, she told me she’d been married and that her soon-to-be ex-husband had been cruel to her too, and that she had kids she couldn’t, didn’t get to see. And, y’know, gave me a real sob story.
Tony: So she – she just tried to gain your confidence and make you feel bad for her so you would, kind of, help her out and give her a place to stay.
Elizabeth: Right
09:56 [Amy begins stealing the first week]
Tony: Now, how long was it after she started staying with you that you – that you noticed things were disappearing?
Elizabeth: uh-uhmm, I’d say within a week. But then the things miraculously reappeared.
Tony: mhm
Elizabeth: So I just wrote it off as an accident, and uh, didn’t think about it. Just didn’t occur to me that people are going to steal because I don’t. Or that people are going to be dishonest because I’m so honest it’s scary.
11:32 [Amy asks to move in – checks start disappearing – money goes missing from bank account]
Elizabeth: Well then, she asked if she could live with me. And I said, well, for a while we’ll try it. And, uh, she started borrowing my car to go to work, and then I wouldn’t have my car. And then, uhm, she asked if she could borrow some money from me and I said, well, I really don’t like to loan people money but she was so desperate I let her, and then some of my checks started disappearing. Y’know?
Tony: Wow — From your checkbook or
Elizabeth: From my- well, actually, not out of the personal checkbook that I kept in my purse, but out of, y’know, a couple stacks down.
Tony: Uh, huh
Elizabeth: so that they weren’t in order
Tony: Ok
Elizabeth: and, uhm, money started disappearing from my account. I, uhh, y’know, I thought ‘wow, what’s going on?” I thought it was, uhm, like, some kind of fraud with my credit cards.
Tony: Right, Right
Elizabeth: So, I had my credit cards changed – things like that. But, uhm, I still trusted her. And she said, with her paychecks, she didn’t want to open her own checking account because she was afraid her ex-husband would find her through that.
Tony: Right
Elizabeth: So she asked me to put her on my account.
Tony: hm… have y- wh-
Elizabeth: So, you wanna talk about being stupid. I did.
Kat: ugh
Elizabeth: and my bank-
Tony: One sec, Elizabeth
Elizabeth: Sure
13:12
Tony: One minute. I just wanna ask – ask a couple of clarifying questions here; So, uhm, she’s – she – after about a week she moved in with you and she was, she was living there with you at your house and you all of a sudden started seeing money disappearing from your bank account.
Elizabeth: Yes
Tony: Ok
Elizabeth: But I thought its as credit card fraud. It didn’t occur to me that someone had stolen checks.
Tony: right, so you didn’t have any idea that she was stealing from you
Elizabeth: No
Tony: And when you, when you raised that to her “hey, money is missing from my account” or did you raise that to her? And what was her reaction-
Elizabeth: No, I didn’t because
Tony: ok
Elizabeth: uhm, I didn’t hav- I didn’t- it never occurred to me that she would do that.
Tony: right
Elizabeth: I thought, well, she’s making money she doesn’t need mine. I’m – I was basically on disability.
Tony: mhm
Elizabeth: So I was still getting my disability checks so I was still getting money.
Tony: right
Elizabeth: And I could afford my apartment, and y’know, my rent. My, uhm, other bills that I paid every month. And then, I was – then all of a sudden I was overdrawn?
Tony: mhm
Elizabeth: And so I thought somebody had gotten a hold of my credit card numbers through the internet
Tony: Right
Elizabeth: And, y’know, I thought maybe that was it so I had my cards changed.
14:50 [Elizabeth opened her home to Amy for free – did not ask Amy to help pay any rent or bills]
Tony: Now, when she moved in did you ask her to contribute at all to the cost of the household?
Elizabeth: No, it didn’t occur to me to do that.
Tony: So you just opened your home to her and let her stay there, at no ch- no cost to yo- to her
Elizabeth: Yeah
Tony: That was very nice of you
Elizabeth: You wanna talk about ‘dumb’
Tony: No, I don’t think it’s dumb. I think it’s, y’know, naïveté and – and just innocence and, and not knowing that there are people out there who would do these things to other people.
15:49 [Elizabeth adds Amy to bank account upon Amy’s request]
Elizabeth: Well, uhm, she asked me to put her on my checking account. So I took her to my bank, and while I was there the bank manager, who I knew, from banking there for a long period of time, said it wasn’t a good idea and I really shouldn’t put her on my account. But, it never, like I said (sigh) very naive. Or I was. I’m not anymore. But, uhm, I like to think I’m not anyway, maybe I still am, I don’t know. But, uhm, I said “well, I trust her. Why would she steal from me I’ve been nothing but good to her” so it didn’t occur to me that that wasn’t gonna stop somebody from stealing from me.
Tony: Right
Elizabeth: So I thought, y’know, our agreement was that she only use the money that she put in the account. And she didn’t touch the money I put in. Because I would never consider touching her money so I didn’t think she’d touch mine.
Tony: Right
Elizabeth: But, I put her on my account. And then, god forbid, she started helping herself. She was saying, oh her father was sending her money. Or buying her these things that were all of a sudden showing up. And then I was being overdrawn here, and overdrawn there, and I couldn’t understand it. And, uh, couldn’t understand it to the tune of $5,000.00.
MGH Team: ohhh, gasp – ‘right’, wow
Elizabeth: When it was all said and done.
Kat: Whoah
Elizabeth: Yeah. Five. Thousand. Dollars and that was just from me.
17:26 [Amy claims she can’t get bank account on her own or abusive ex will find her]
Tony: Now. Uhm. Ok, so – just – I wanna step back a little bit and ask a few more questions so we can get some more detail about this. And again, y’know, I – I don’t want this to be any kind of, uh, y’now, uh, any kind of criticism of you but just so we can understand just how ma- how you were manipulated by this person. So this person, and this is kind of a trend, uhm, she uhh, she made you think that she was in an abusive relationship. She was hiding from somebody who would cause her harm. And that’s why she could not get a bank account of her own. And asked you to put her on her bank acc- on your bank account.
Elizabeth: Yeah (garbled wording)
Tony: And you did so willingly to try and help her out.
19:30 [Moves into 2-bedroom apartment – Amy’s abusive ex is suddenly no longer abusive]
Elizabeth: But at the time, being as naive as I was, I did it.
Tony: Yep, yep.
Elizabeth: And y’know, you’re gonna do what you’re gonna do. we got a 2-bedroom apartment and all of a sudden her boyfriend is back in the picture and he’s no longer beating her up.
Tony: mhm
Elizabeth: I didn’t trust him but that was, y’know, I kept my opinions to myself. Because, I figured, y’know, you – you’re gonna do what you’re gonna do.
Tony: yeah
Elizabeth: and
Tony: So, and she, she stole a bunch of money from you before you even put her on your bank account. Did she, in any way, give you any money to try and help out with that missing money that someone, that you thought was stolen by (garbled wording)
Elizabeth: Oh yeah, she did. She, uh, actually, put a hundred dolla- gave me a hundred dollars that I deposited in my checking account, which of course later on disappeared.
21:16. [Elizabeth confronts Amy about missing money – Amy’s boyfriend threatens Elizabeth]
Elizabeth: Anyway, she hadn’t really taken much before we moved in together, it was after we moved in together, uh, into the 2-bedroom that money really started disappearing and I started bitching to her about it and her boyfriend started threatening me.
21:35 [Larger sums of money disappear – Elizabeth is rendered homeless]
Tony: Now, now let’s pause for a moment, uh, Elizabeth. So, you guys moved into a 2-bedroom apartment.
Elizabeth: Yeah
Tony: You put her on your – you put her on your checking account.
Elizabeth: yes
Tony: Uhm, did you at any time, d- was she contributing her paycheck into the checking account? Or was-
Elizabeth: She was basically cashing her paycheck through my checking account but the money wasn’t, her money wasn’t staying in there. And my money was disappearing.
Tony: hm
Elizabeth: Y’know?
Tony: Now, how soo- how soon after you had added her to your checking account did your money start disappearing again?
Elizabeth: Oh, I’d say, 2 weeks
Tony: Ok. And was it now larger sums of money? Because before it was a small amount.
Elizabeth: Yes
Tony: ok
Elizabeth: It was uh, she had taken a stack of my checks from my, uhm, box of checks. She had gone down a few rows so that it wasn’t, y’know, obvious,
Tony: right
Elizabeth: And, uh, (sigh) all of a sudden my bank’s calling me up saying y-, y’know, your check to so-and-so bounced and I said “what check to so-and-so? I never, I’ve never been there.” Well, we have a check that Amy Morrison signed.
Tony: huh
Elizabeth: And I, y’know would say t- and I’d say “ok” and I’d take down the check number and
Tony: mhm
Elizabeth: the place, and the amount and I’d contact her and she’d say “Oh, well, I put my check in, y’know, your account” and I’d say “well, it isn’t there, your money, and we’re overdr- I’m overdrawn, which means you’re overdrawn”.
Tony: Right
Elizabeth: and, uh, didn’t bother her. Well, she lost the apartment. I ended up moving out of there and into a place for homeless people.
Tony: So she stole all of your money, took it all out of the bank account, bouncing checks all over the place, and now you’re homeless.
Elizabeth: Yeah
Tony: When you, when you moved into the apartment with Amy, uhm, how long did you guys actually stay there together?
Elizabeth: Oh, a month.
Tony: A month. So you were there for a month. And what was the arrangement
Elizabeth: yeah
Tony: and what was the arrangement made as far as paying the utilities and bills and stuff like that? Were you supposed to split them?
Elizabeth: I was paying half. She was paying half. But her half ne- I never got her half. I paid the entire security deposit, plus the first month’s rent. She didn’t pay any of it. I paid for all the hookups. Uhm, it seems that I paid for everything. We moved in the beginning of, uhm, November. And by the end of November I had moved into a homeless shelter, and she continued to live there til she was evicted. Uhm, I had gotten rid of a lot of my furniture because she bought all new stuff.
Tony: mhm
Elizabeth: which, of course, was repossessed.
Elizabeth: but in the meantime I no longer had my things, and she had basically stolen everything I had.
25:06 [Amy bankrupted Elizabeth – Rendered her homeless – and stole her priceless family heirloom jewelry]
Tony: Wow, now you had mentioned, uh, some of your mother’s kind of heirloom jewelry that had gone missing as well.
Elizabeth: Oh, it was my great grandmother’s, uhm, cameo brooch, that had a hook on it to be able to hang on a chain, as well. That, uhm, was the only thing I had of my great grandmother. And, when I moved out, uhh, that disappeared from my jewelry box.
Tony: Wow
Elizabeth: and also, my wedding ring, and uhm, a couple other pieces of jewelry disappeared.
Tony: Wow. I’m amazed at the damage that this woman could do, in one month, to your financial state.
Elizabeth: Well, I met her in July. In August she moved into my apartment. We were there August, September, October.
Tony: mhm
Elizabeth: And, by the end of November she had ruined me financially, and ruined my credit. It has since been restored but it took me a long time to be able to do that. To get it, y’know, rebuild my life.
Tony: Yup
Elizabeth: I was very fortunate to have family to help me.