Limpia scam: Mesa PD warns about conmen pretending to be spiritual guides
Mesa Police officials warn of 'Limpia scams'
Police in Mesa say people should be aware of conmen pretending to be spiritual guides offering a cleansing known as a 'limpia,' a ceremony that is well-known to people in the Latine community, but is also seen in other cultures. FOX 10's Brian Webb reports.
MESA, Ariz. - Mesa Police officials have a warning about an unusual scam: people pretending to be spiritual guides who are actually rip-off artists.
The scam involves a spiritual cleansing that is called a ‘limpia,' an ancient ceremony that uses tarot cards, herbs and rituals to remove negative energy, on a path toward
enlightenment.
"The cards will determine if you in fact need it," said Thomas Baldonado with Las Potencias Africanas. "It may be your diet. It might be some emotional distress. It might be something traumatic drama that’s causing your energies to be off."
Limpias are best known in the Latine community, but it is also seen in other cultures. Mesa Police officials say people pretending to be ‘medicine men’ are making house calls, free of charge. These people, according to police, gain trust by claiming to be a friend of the family or next door neighbor.
"What’s happening is the second person that’s going in the house is distracting the victim for a split second, and then, they are stealing the money, the valuables and things like that," said Mesa Police detective Richard Encinas.
Baldonado says the danger sign starts with a knock at the door: healers don’t seek-out the sick.
"If you need it, your spirit, God will tell you ‘I need something. Something’s going on, I better go check,'" said Baldonado. "For me to go solicit that, then there’s no spirituality there."
Baldonado has been a spiritual healer for 30 years. He said people looking into a limpia should do their homework.
"It's nothing new," said Baldonado. "It's not the first time, and it won’t be the last, unfortunately."
Mesa Police officials are asking victims not to speak up, due to concerns it might tip off the crooks. However, officials say people who believe they have been scammed should call police right away.