The US District Court for the Southern District of Florida shuts down an international psychic mail fraud scheme operated by three individuals and two companies. The scammers forked millions of dollars by selling the promise of good fortune to tens of thousands of US residents.
Last week, the United States District Court permanently barred three France residents and two corporate defendants from participating in mass mailing campaigns.
The complaint alleges that Robert Lhez, Mireille Dayer, and Julie Poulleau, using Arcana Center, a company in Delaware, and a Swiss corporation named Partners VAD International Sàrl, sent hundreds of thousands of mailers across the United States.
According to the Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs, the letters were purportedly sent on behalf of companies or individuals offering unwary consumers psychic, clairvoyant, or astrological services. Individuals covered by the scheme were told that they would make some money as soon as they paid the prepaid fee.
Furthermore, the Justice Department alleged that the scammers forked millions of dollars from tens of thousands of victims, primarily the elderly. Victims sent the scammers more than 34,000 payments totaling over $1.4 million from March 2017 to June 2018 alone. However, none of the victims who handed over their cash received any of the promised good fortune.
“These solicitations were riddled with false and misleading statements that gave the false impression that in exchange for payment of a small fee, typically of $45 or $50, the individual recipient would come into good fortune resulting in an imminent financial windfall through the lottery, inheritance or other game of chance,” said the Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs in a statement.
The defendants “have been known to Postal Inspectors for years, constantly changing their fraudulent schemes in the attempt to stay one step ahead of the law,” stated Eric Shen, inspector in charge of the US Postal Inspection Service’s Criminal Investigations Group.
Juan Antonio Gonzalez, acting US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida urged the US residents to remain vigilant and question promotions that seem too good to be true and report suspected fraud to law enforcement.
“Beyond financial losses, predatory fraud schemes like this one lead to immense emotional suffering for victims. We urge the public to question promotions that seem too good to be true and immediately report suspected fraud to law enforcement,” Gonzalez advised.
