(NationalUSNews.com) — Infamous con-woman, Marianne “Mair” Smyth was arrested again on February 23, this time in Bingham, Maine, where she has been living since being granted early release from prison in California. She had been less than two years into a five-year sentence when she was released in December of 2020 as part of an initiative where nonviolent offenders were released to reduce the spread of COVID in prisons. While she had been in jail for fraud committed in the U.S., Smyth is also wanted for similar crimes committed in Northern Ireland between March 2008 and October 2010.
Podcaster Johnathan Walton, who had been defrauded of nearly $100,000 by Smyth and whose Queen of the Con: The Irish Heiress podcast brought her to public notice, said that fans of his program notified him of her location, which he then passed on to the police in Northern Ireland. She has been denied bail as she is considered a flight risk, and she is being detained while awaiting her extradition hearing. According to prosecutors, each of the charges against Smyth in Northern Ireland could carry sentences of up to 10 years.
Listeners of Walton’s podcast know that American-born Smyth has a long history of fraud and impersonation. She has pretended to be an Irish heiress, a psychic, a psychologist, a court-appointed child custody investigator, a Satanic high priestess, an NHL hockey coach, a cancer patient, and, in one instance, Jennifer Aniston. He originally investigated Smyth and posted his findings in an attempt to warn others so they would not be taken in like he was. The story was so popular, though, that it is now only the first of several podcasts he has made on other unscrupulous con artists.
Law enforcement in Northern Ireland became aware of Smyth’s continuing illegal activities in America through Walton’s reports. While she lived in Northern Ireland, she worked at a mortgage company where she took more than $170,000 from customers under false promises that she would be investing the money for them in high interest-bearing bank accounts. One of Smyth’s many accusers refers to her as a “she devil,” adding that the worst part of the whole thing is that her entanglement with Smyth has destroyed her trust in humankind.
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