Morton's Run As Fugitive Comes to Predictable End

[To websites and social media posters taking this story verbatim and running with as if it was their own, knock it off and stop stealing my work. -- ufowatchdog.com]

UPDATED 08/24 @ 1:15pm - PST

Sean David Morton, the bunk psychic who gained notoriety thanks to late night radio host Art Bell and the Coast To Coast AM show, was taken into custody on Monday (same day as the eclipse) by federal agents from the U.S. Marshal's Service.  Also taken into custody was Morton's wife Melissa Ann Morton.  The arrest ended Sean David Morton's run as a fugitive for the past sixty-one days.

The Morton's were both convicted in early April 2017 on over 50 felony counts involving fraud and conspiracy stemming from their involvement in a tax scheme that netted them thousands of dollars from victims in a straw-man/redemption bonding scheme in which The Mortons told people they could erase anyone's debt.  The Mortons also obtained a nearly $500,000 fraudulent tax refund from the IRS.  When the IRS discovered the mistake and went to retrieve the funds, The Mortons moved quickly to hide the money, withdrew $70,000 in cash, bought a new BMW, and later lied to investigators about bank accounts involved in obtaining and hiding the funds.

Sean David Morton was scheduled to be sentenced on June 19, 2017 but did not appear as ordered by the court, resulting in a warrant being issued for Morton's arrest for failure to appear.  During his time as a fugitive, Morton appeared on a YouTube show claiming he had left the country and was in Iceland.  But several things in the video led ufowatchdog.com to believe Morton was still in the California area and this information was passed on to the Department of Justice.  It was also during this same YouTube interview that Morton claimed there was not a warrant for his arrest.

Morton's co-defendant Melissa Ann Morton (pictured right) was the subject of a conditional release agreement prior to her criminal sentencing next month.  That release agreement included the stipulation she have no contact with Sean David Morton.  The same release agreement also had the condition that federal agents could monitor Melissa Morton's computer and mobile phone.

In spite of the release agreement, documents show Melissa Morton had been in contact with Sean David Morton.  Melissa Morton was arrested on Monday at approximately noon according to records obtained by ufowatchdog.com stating she had been arrested for "violation of pretrial release" and "non-compliance with condition of supervision; contact with fugitive co-defendant".  Sean David Morton was arrested approximately thirty-minutes prior to his wife - it was unclear if they were together when the arrests occurred.

The Mortons were arrested at a hotel in Desert Hot Springs, California on Monday when agents from the IRS and U.S. Marshal's Service tracked Melissa Ann Morton to the location after discovering she'd be meeting with Sean David Morton, both were taken into custody without incident.

The Mortons appeared before a federal magistrate on Tuesday and both were ordered held without bond.  Melissa Morton's criminal sentencing for her conviction in the tax scheme is scheduled for September 19th.  A date for Sean David Morton's sentencing in the tax scheme has yet to be set.

The government has asked that The Mortons be remanded to custody due to them both posing a significant flight risk.  On Tuesday a judge ordered that Sean David Morton be held in custody.  It is unknown when a hearing on Melissa Morton's custody will be held, but she is likely to also be held in custody.  With Melissa Morton having violated her release agreement she must pay $10,000 as she had been released on a signature bond in which the person being released agrees to pay a certain amount if the conditions of the release are violated.

Both Sean David Morton and Melissa Ann Morton were initially lodged at the Federal Metro Detention Center in Los Angeles, but have since been moved to the San Bernardino jail pending their next court appearances.

Sean David Morton was the subject of an in-depth investigation by ufowatchdog.com entitled The Shameless Psychic and his Prophecy of Lies.  The investigation exposed many of Morton's background, UFO, psychic, and educational claims as false.  Morton filed a lawsuit against ufowatchdog.com in 2003 claiming he'd been the subject of libel.  Unable to provide proof of his claims in court, Morton lost the lawsuit and was ordered to pay $16,000 in legal fees to ufowatchdog.com.

Morton and his wife were sued by the SEC in a securities fraud scheme where Morton claimed he could use his so-called psychic powers to predict the stock market.  Investors lost more than $6,000,000 and it was discovered that Morton and his wife had diverted investor funds to their personal and business accounts without investor knowledge. The Mortons were ordered to repay $11.5mil.