Police: Scam forced marital lie from man

A 27-year-old man told his wife he had been robbed to avoid revealing he actually had been tricked by a scam artist, police in Florida say.

Marion County sheriff's deputies said while Mario Oscar Carlos initially told authorities he and his wife he had been robbed of $8,000 in cash, the man allegedly later confessed to making the story up to avoid embarrassment, the Ocala (Fla.) Star-Banner reported Sunday.

A police report alleged that after officers noticed inconsistencies in his robbery account, Carlos admitted he actually lost the money to a spiritual healer.

Carlos allegedly told police the healer told him to place the cash inside a sock so it could be blessed and then put it in the trunk of his car. He said when he checked on the money Friday, he found the cash-filled sock had been replaced by one filled with only $50, the report alleged.

The Star-Banner said for his marital and legal lie, police charged Carlos with filing a false police report