He should have seen this coming.
A Brooklyn man running a psychic scam has bilked elderly Mid-Westerners out of thousands of dollars, according to officials in Iowa. That state’s top legal eagle says that Joseph Meisels of Borough Park has been sending ridiculous mailers to Iowans promising to rid them of their bad luck with his psychic powers — for a cost.
“These mailings were outrageous and outlandish in their deceptive claims and promises from supposed clairvoyants, astrologers, and even extraterrestrials,” Attorney General Tom Miller said. “Sadly, these predatory mailings found their way to the mailboxes of many elderly Iowans, bilking one 77-year-old Iowa woman out of more than $1,500 in 2014 alone.”
And outlandish they were, based on a copy of the mailer Meisels allegedly circulated.
“Even someone whose luck fields are as jammed and rusty as yours, with the knowledge I possess, with the psychic technology at my disposal, I can revive even the luck-dead and perpetual inheritors of misfortune,” the seven-page mailer states. “There is no choice but to unleash the greatest super weapon in my psychic arsenal on your behalf.”
But first he needs $50.
The scam letter also included a testimonial from one Prof. Magnum Demorarth alongside a photo of the supposed professor — except the photo is actually economist and former Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke. It is literally the first result when you Google Bernanke’s name.
So far, 78 Rust Belt rubes have sent Meisels a combined $13,740, according to a press release from Miller’s office. An Iowa court is ordering him to repay the money and cough up a $20,000 fine.
On average, the pigeons mailed Meisels $176 — but taking the bait exposed the marks to more scams, according to the Iowa attorney general.
“If an older Iowan sends money in response to a fraudulent mailing, he or she may be targeted by a host of other scammers — developing into a feeding frenzy that can bleed the victim’s bank account,” a press release states.
Meisels maintains the headquarters of his International Astrological Foundation on 18th Avenue, according to the Iowa attorney general’s office. But the people who picked up the phone and answered the door at the two locations said Meisels wasn’t there.
