Man claims $150,000 scam by psychic after sex change

Drakar Druella was struggling with wrenching emotional problems last October when he walked into the Hawthorne Psychic Shop in Southeast Portland for a palm reading and met Cathy Stevens. Over the next seven weeks he would give the psychic $150,000 in cash and gifts so she could rid him of his "negative energy" and heal him.

Druella says the 39-year-old woman was so convincing, he didn't realize he was being scammed until he heard Stevens launch into the same story with another client. "That's when it all went 'click, click, click,' " said Druella, 42, who called police in November and is now filing for personal bankruptcy. "The people she was taking advantage of were so vulnerable and in so much emotional pain."



Druella, who was struggling with his gender identity after undergoing a sex change, said Stevens told him she sensed his "twin-flame energy," and used Catholic symbolism that resonated with Druella, who was raised Catholic. She connected with him in a way that other spiritual teachers had not.

According to the police search warrant affidavit and an interview with Druella, he first paid Stevens $265 for advice on Oct. 8. She told him he had "negative energy" and a demon attached to him, and she could help him get rid of it. But in order to do so, she said she'd need $22,000 to buy a "tabernacle" and she'd conduct an exorcism. She instructed him not to say anything to others and also asked him to turn over to her his personal journals.



Druella, who has an associate's degree from Portland Community College and works as a bookkeeper and office manager for a management consulting firm in downtown Portland, agreed. He said Stevens then told him she needed a vehicle to take her to a remote mountainous area to help transport his negative energy away. On Oct. 11, they both went to Vic Alfonso dealership, where he got a loan and bought an H-3T Hummer in his name for $45,940. He says he gave Stevens the Hummer so she could continue to do spiritual work on his behalf.

Druella said he grew to view Stevens like a "mom" and believed she was "saving " him from death. On one occasion, he went to Lloyd Center with Stevens, and bought four Rolex watches , totaling $37,840. Stevens told him she needed a special component in the watches, also to use toward his healing, he said. "I've never seen anybody as convincing as her. She could cry on will. Her display of emotion and authenticity. She becomes what you want and need her to be," Druella said.