A fortune teller's hand is on tarot cards in Novi Sad, Serbia, on June 22, 2025. Tarot cards are commonly used for fortune-telling and divination. (Photo by Maxim Konankov/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
A Florida man was arrested in Germany and extradited to the United States to face fraud charges in connection with a fake psychic scheme that prosecutors say collected millions of dollars from vulnerable victims.
The U.S. Department of Justice says Mael Chemla, 61, a Florida resident and French and Israeli national, was extradited from Germany and made his initial appearance before a federal judge in Miami.
Federal prosecutors say Chemla and his co-conspirators operated a mail fraud scheme targeting elderly and other vulnerable Americans by sending letters that appeared to be personalized correspondence from psychics.
The letters promised victims a financial windfall but claimed they first needed to send money to receive it. According to the indictment, Chemla and his associates opened bank accounts to collect payments from victims before transferring the funds to accounts in Europe.
Between September 2016 and November 2020, the scheme collected more than $4 million from victims across the United States, according to prosecutors.
Chemla faces conspiracy, mail fraud and wire fraud charges. He could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
The Source: This story was written with information provided by the U.S. Department of Justice. This story was reported from Orlando.