PANews reported on August 25, according to Cointelegraph, billionaire heir Taylor Thomson lost over $80 million on digital assets due to following investment advice related to a psychic. Thomson is a member of the family behind media and financial giant Thomson Reuters, and with the help of her former close friend Ashley Richardson, she invested millions of dollars in cryptocurrency assets. Both had previously sought advice from psychics, after which Richardson became deeply involved in managing Thomson's cryptocurrency portfolio, reportedly managing over $140 million in various wallets for Thomson during the bull market in 2021.
However, the downturn in the cryptocurrency market in mid-2022 severely impacted the portfolio, with consulting firm Guidepost Solutions estimating that Thomson's losses exceeded $80 million. The company accused Richardson of executing over 450,000 trades without proper authorization, exposing Thomson to high-risk strategies. Richardson denies the allegations, claiming to have acted on Thomson's instructions, and that there was no formal contract between them. In 2023, Thomson sued Richardson and Persistence; she has since settled with Persistence, while the lawsuit against Richardson is still ongoing.