Sean David Morton

Sean David Morton
Born Sean David Morton
(1959-10-01) October 1, 1959
Nationality American
Education University of Southern California
(B.A.) in Political Science
(B.F.A.) in Performing Arts
Occupation Psychic, Author, Filmmaker, Investor

Sean David Morton (born October 1, 1959) is a self-described psychic and alleged remote viewer who has referred to himself as "America's Prophet." He also hosts radio shows, authors books, and makes documentary films.[1] In 2010, Morton and his wife were indicted by the Securities and Exchange Commission on charges of fraud. The director of the S.E.C.’s New York regional office stated that “Morton’s self-proclaimed psychic powers were nothing more than a scam to attract investors and steal their money.”[2]

Life

Morton spent his early years in Texas and high school years in Atherton, California where he attended Woodside High School, graduating in the class of 1976. He alleges he was sent to a military school as well. He attended University of Southern California, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Performing Arts. His father was a public relations official for TRW,[3] and his mother was radio/TV personality and health author Maureen Kennedy Salaman. Both were fundamentalist Christians but he became a self-described "New Age thinker".[4] He has said that as a child he often heard astronauts describe their experiences with extraterrestrials. Although he claims to have had extensive contact with NASA astronauts in his childhood, in later life Morton alleged that NASA was "fake."

Morton became interested in the paranormal after a 1985 trip to England and Ireland where he became involved in what he calls either the Green Stone saga or the Meonia Stone saga. He later went to India where he met with the Dalai Lama. Morton claims that while in India, he was taught the secrets of time travel by Nepalese monks and that they also helped him to develop a system of remote viewing.[2][4][5]

Work

Between 1985 and 1996, Morton worked in visual media, releasing documentaries on subjects including the Chupacabra and Bigfoot. He also led tours around Area 51. Morton told them that aliens from Area 51 were possibly from "Krondac," a planet which is 800 light-years away.[4]

Morton was the subject of an investigation by the website UFO Watchdog, specifically the website published The Shameless Psychic and His Prophecy of Lies and called into question many of Morton's claims. Morton filed a $1,000,000.00 lawsuit against the site claiming he had been the subject of libel. A court found in favor of UFO Watchdog and Morton was ordered to pay the website $16,000.00 in legal fees

Morton hosts the radio show "Strange Universe Radio".

Doctorate

Morton uses the title "Doctor" in formal situations such as conference presentations.[6] The Aquarian Radio website[7] says that he received his Ph.D. in therapeutic psychology from the International Institute of Health and Spiritual Sciences in Montreal, Canada, in 2005.

Also known as the International College of Spiritual & Psychic Sciences,[8] this institution offers a four-part curriculum. The "Level V program," claimed to be the equivalent of a doctorate, requires 120 graduate credits for a fee of $40 CAN per credit.

Securities fraud

From 1996 to 2010, Morton ran Delphi Associates Newsletter (DAN), a print and online publication in which he made economic, financial and political predictions. In 2001, Morton predicted that the Dow Jones Industrial Average would rise to somewhere around 12,000 in December. The index actually ended at 8,341.[2] In 2007, he founded The Delphi Investment Group to allow investors to profit from trading in world currencies based on his predictions.

On March 7, 2010, Morton and his wife Melissa were indicted by the Securities and Exchange Commission on charges of fraud.[5][9] He is alleged to have defrauded around 100 customers of $6 million between 2006 and 2007.[1] According to the commission, only a fraction of the money received by Morton went into foreign exchange trading accounts and the rest was placed in shell companies run by Morton and his wife.[10]

In 2009, Morton attempted to file suit against the SEC, claiming that he was being unfairly harassed by employees. The suit was dismissed.[9]

In February 2013, Morton was ordered by a judge to pay $11.5 million to the SEC within 14 days.[11][12]

Morton and his wife Melissa were arrested on February 1, 2016 and were charged with 56 counts of filing false income taxes. They face 650 and 625 years in federal prison, respectively, if convicted.[13] Their trial is set for November 2016.

Media appearances

Publications

References

  1. 1 2 Ed Pilkington (March 5, 2010). "Fraud charges for 'America's prophet' who claimed to predict stockmarket". The Guardian. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 Michael J. de la Merced (March 4, 2010). "For Psychic, Suit Came as Surprise". New York Times. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  3. ↑ ""The Shameless Psychic and his Prophecy of Lies"". Retrieved 2016-02-10.
  4. 1 2 3 Carol Masciola (May 2, 1993). "Mysterious Earthlings Scour The Desert For Space Alien Tourists". The Seattle Times. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
  5. 1 2 Bruce Golding (March 5, 2010). "Seer $ucker Suit-Prophet & Loss in $6M Trading Scam: Feds". The New York Post. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
  6. ↑ See, for example, the program of the Conscious Life Expo, February 2015. He is also captioned as "Doctor" when he appears on the Cable TV series Ancient Aliens.
  7. ↑ Morton bio at Aquarian Radio
  8. ↑ ICSPS web site
  9. 1 2 Dominic Rushe (March 7, 2010). "US authorities chase psychic in $6m 'scam'". The Sunday Times.
  10. ↑ Alison Gendar (March 4, 2010). "Psychic Sean David Morton scammed $6M convincing people he could predict stocks' fortune, SEC claims". New York: Daily News (New York). Retrieved October 6, 2010.
  11. ↑ "Securities and Exchange Commission v. Sean David Morton, Vajra Productions, LLC, 27 Investments, LLC, and Magic Eight Ball Distributing, Inc., defendants, and Melissa Morton and Prophecy Research Institute, relief defendants, Civil Action No. 10-CV-1720 (SDNY) (KBF)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. February 15, 2013. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  12. ↑ Helen Christophi. "Psychic Must Pay SEC $11.5M For Bogus Market Predictions". Law360.
  13. ↑ Altman, Larry (February 1, 2016). "Hermosa Beach couple charged with trying to defraud U.S. government". Daily Breeze. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Sean David Morton". Internet Movie Database.
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