A former South Florida resident who allegedly amassed millions by convincing strangers that financial prosperity was imminent apparently neglected to consult his own forecast before federal authorities closed in.
Mael Chemla, 61, a citizen of the United States, France, and Israel who previously resided in Aventura, Florida, made his initial court appearance in Miami federal court following his extradition from Germany. He faces charges related to orchestrating an elaborate, nationwide mail-fraud operation built entirely on fictitious psychics and false promises of sudden wealth.
According to an indictment unsealed in the Southern District of Florida, Chemla and unnamed co-conspirators distributed letters to mailboxes across the country, presenting them as personalized and urgent communications from clairvoyants. The message was consistent throughout: a significant, life-altering financial windfall was imminent and within reach.
The condition, as is common in such fraudulent schemes, required victims to submit payment in advance in order to claim it.
Prosecutors assert that Chemla was not consulting tarot cards or reading tea leaves. Instead, he directed his efforts toward financial institutions. He allegedly opened domestic bank accounts under the aliases of the purported psychics, deposited checks received from believing victims, and promptly wired the funds to European accounts controlled by a co-conspirator.
Between September 2016 and November 2020, the operation collected more than $4 million from thousands of hopeful Americans, frequently targeting elderly and vulnerable individuals who sought encouraging news through the mail.
Chemla faces charges of conspiracy, mail fraud, and wire fraud. If convicted on all counts, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison , an outcome brought into focus not by a crystal ball, but by the investigative work of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Trial attorneys from the Justice Department’s White Collar and Corporate Enforcement Section are overseeing the prosecution.
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