Woman Claims Spy Shop Made Fortune by Milking Her Paranoid Delusions

A pair of magnetic tweezers for $1,200? A $214,000 home scan to detect hidden electronic bugs?

A South Florida woman claims her neighborhood spy-equipment shop sold her these and other exorbitantly priced products and services while she was suffering from extreme paranoia that led her to believe tiny listening devices had been secretly implanted in her body and around her home.

The allegations are laid out in a lawsuit filed in Broward County, in which the woman claims RNMC Inc. took advantage of her condition, extracting progressively larger sums of money from her by feeding into her delusions. Her paranoia was an unusual side effect of taking the weight-loss medication phentermine, according to the complaint.

"Even after conducting multiple 'scans' of the plaintiff's body, which did not result in locating any devices, the defendants...continued to instill fear into the plaintiff and to misrepresent the possibility of devices at the plaintiff's person, vehicle, and home," the lawsuit alleges.

The case lists counts of infliction of emotional distress, unjust enrichment, and fraudulent inducement.

When reached by phone, the store declined to comment. The shop has not responded to follow-up emails requesting a statement.

According to the complaint, the plaintiff first visited RNMC Inc., doing business as Spy Shop, in Broward County in the fall of 2021, preoccupied with the idea that an electronic eavesdropping device had been surreptitiously implanted in her ear and was causing her to suffer a nagging case of tinnitus (ringing in the ear). After charging her for a $500 "body scan," the store staff suggested a more expensive scan to detect supposed military-grade equipment, the lawsuit claims.

The lawsuit alleges that in early October 2021, the store "sold the plaintiff a set of tweezers for $1,200" in cash, leading her to believe she could use them to remove the device she was convinced had been implanted in her ear. (A similar pair of magnetic tweezers can be purchased elsewhere for a fraction of that price, according to the lawsuit.)

The price of services provided to the plaintiff rose from there, the lawsuit alleges.

The woman claims that she paid the store $10,000 for a "service and sweep" in mid-October 2021. The following month, after she was released from a brief stay at a county mental health facility, RNMC's staff "explained that they could have a scan conducted at her home and her vehicle," according to the lawsuit.

The November scan "cost $214,000," and the plaintiff wired the funds to the business as directed by RNMC, the lawsuit alleges. The service involved the defendants and "two unknown men" inspecting the plaintiff's home with electronic-bug-detecting equipment for a few hours while she waited outside, according to the pleading.

The lawsuit claims the plaintiff's October stay at a mental health facility — which preceded the purported $214,000 scan by about two weeks — was known to one of the store's managers, defendant Nancy Salvador, who had allegedly dealt with the plaintiff since her initial visits to the Spy Shop. The lawsuit alleges that while in the care of Broward Health, the plaintiff contacted Salvador and asked her to "explain about the device in her head to the doctors" to expedite her release.

According to the pleading, the plaintiff's mental health later improved and her delusions subsided after she discontinued use of phentermine. Her name is not included in the pleading out of apparent concerns for her medical privacy.

The plaintiff's lawyer, Casey Clouchete, declined to comment and hung up when New Times asked him about his client's alleged transactions. He is described in his professional profile as a former Osceola County detective, one-time state prosecutor, and current senior attorney at the law firm of Denise Adkins in Winter Springs.

Psychosis and paranoid delusions in patients taking phentermine are documented extensively in medical literature, particularly in patients taking prolonged regimens. A positional isomer of methamphetamine, the drug is available by prescription as an appetite suppressant. More common nervous-system side effects of the drug include jitteriness, insomnia, and overstimulation.

On its website, the Spy Shop describes itself as a pioneer of the spy equipment industry, noting that it opened its first shop more than 25 years ago.

The business says it has "helped thousands of people protect themselves with cutting-edge technology." The site advertises a high-quality security camera at $295 and a men's black tie with a tiny, hidden pinhole camera with DVR listed for $650.

Glowing reviews of the business can be found on Google, with one user saying, "Their products, customer service, and prices are top-notch," and another beaming, "Great prices, customer service, onsite technician."

"Do you think you're being spied on? If so, Spy Shop has a vast array of counter-surveillance options that can help you track down unwanted video cameras, audio surveillance, and GPS trackers," the store's website states. "If you don't want to find them yourself, Spy Shop can perform bug sweeps of your home, office, or vehicle. Our counter-surveillance team uses the most advanced bug detectors to ensure your environment is free of intrusion."