ROANOKE TIMES

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, November 5, 1994                   TAG: 9411070029
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium


PALM READER'S UNLUCKY NUMBER: 6

MISS STELLA, who has six convictions in New York state, was back in court Friday.

Lola Miller, aka Miss Stella - a palm reader charged this week with fraud - had an extensive history of psychic-related crimes in New York before moving to Roanoke in 1992.

"The indications are that she's a longtime con artist," Assistant U.S Attorney Ken Sorenson said in court Friday.

From 1972 to 1986, Miller, 44, was convicted in New York state courts six times on charges that included disorderly conduct related to fortunetelling, petty larceny and attempted grand larceny, according to court testimony.

Miller, a palm reader charged by Roanoke police Thursday with obtaining money under false pretenses, was in court for the second day in a row Friday, but the venue had changed from state to federal court.

In addition to the state charges, Miller was sentenced to five years' probation in July 1992 after being convicted in federal court in New York of structuring money transactions. All bank transactions involving more than $10,000 in cash must be reported to the Internal Revenue Service, Sorenson said, and it's considered structuring when a person takes a large amount of money and deposits it using numerous checks or money orders of less than $10,000.

"It's the classic way people with illegal incomes hide it from the IRS," he said.

Miller moved to the Roanoke area shortly after that conviction, and the federal probation office in Roanoke has been supervising her for the past two years.

A federal judge signed a warrant for Miller's arrest Thursday afternoon - just hours after she had posted $5,000 bond and been released from jail on fraud charges filed by Roanoke police.

Ann Martin, a federal probation officer in Roanoke, told U.S. Magistrate Glen Conrad on Friday that the warrant was issued because her office feared Miller would flee.

Earlier this year, Miller had been convicted of petty larceny for shoplifting from a Roanoke Valley Leggett store. A federal court hearing is scheduled later this month to determine whether Miller's probation will be affected by the shoplifting conviction.

Martin said there had been no plans to arrest Miller but that hours after her release from the Roanoke jail Thursday, a moving van and several out-of-state cars reportedly were seen in front of Miller's home.

"At that point we feared there was a risk of flight," Martin told Conrad.

The government asked Conrad to deny Miller bond at least until her preliminary hearing in state court on Nov. 17.

Miller's attorney, John Edwards, urged Conrad to release Miller without bond, saying that she had no plans to leave the area. He said the out-of-state vehicles in front of her home belonged to two brothers who had come to visit after hearing of her arrest.

Edwards said that the police officer who reported seeing a moving van at the house might have seen a minivan belonging to one of Miller's brothers.

"It's just a big misunderstanding," he said, pointing out that Miller surrendered voluntarily Thursday after learning the arrest warrant had been issued.

Conrad set Miller's bond at $30,000. He also forbade her from performing any fortunetelling activities while under bond, and is requiring her to wear an electronic monitoring device to guarantee that she doesn't leave the Roanoke Valley.

Edwards, who described Miller as "pretty close to being illiterate," said he's confident that the fraud charges facing her will be dismissed.

"Predicting the future has never been considered a criminal charge," he said. "We strongly contest that a crime has even been committed."



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