September 9 - Combating Psychic Fraud

Presented by Mark Carlon and Catherine Woytowicz

Society of American Magicians

Paranormal Investigation Committee

Fraud Awareness Program

Saturday, September 9, 2023 at 2:30 PM ET (note special time)

Central Library

Barbara M. Donnellan Auditorium

1015 North Quincy Street

Arlington, VA

(Virginia Square-GMU Metro station)

FREE admission – Everyone welcome, members and non-members

The Society of American Magicians  (S.A.M.) is the oldest fraternal magic organization in the world, founded in 1902.  Several months after S.A.M.'s founding, Harry Houdini was elected to membership. Houdini was well-known for his escapes and magic acts, but he also worked to expose frauds who claimed to have supernatural powers.

Based in part on his own experiences with psychics attempting to contact the dead, Houdini helped form the S.A.M’s Paranormal Investigation Committee (P.I.C.) and establish its mission to investigate and expose those “supernatural” frauds. Houdini even testified before Congress, exposing a method fraudulent psychics used to imply they were in communication with the dead. S.A.M.'s P.I.C. has carried on that work for more than 100 years.

Carlon and Woytowicz will talk about P.I.C.’s current work to raise awareness of fraud.  They have created a presentation on typical fraud cases and are partnering with community law enforcement agencies to raise awareness of these scams – especially psychics who are preying upon people who lost loved ones during COVID.

Mr. Carlon will be joining us virtually while Ms. Woytowicz will join us in person.

Mr. Mark Carlon is a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM) and S.A.M. who has performed magic from Chicago to Las Vegas.  He has a degree in developmental psychology and is a retired attorney.  Mr. Carlon is the chair of the Paranormal Investigation Committee.

Ms. Catherine Woytowicz is a magician, mentalist, and comic who began her magic career at 14 in a girl-to-tiger change illusion.  She performs corporate magic and facilitates critical thinking/structured thinking techniques with her company, Just the Trick.  She has a PhD in pharmaceutical design and discovery.  If you believe she could talk about drugs for hours, she will promise not to.

This event will also be livestreamed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJ8A1drUslw