$4,000,000+ Allegedly Taken From Thousands of Victims in Florida Psychic Mail Fraud Scheme

Brief

By Dextape Desk · November 7, 2026

Mael Chemla, 61, formerly of Aventura, Florida, has been charged with conspiracy and with mail and wire fraud. After being extradited from Germany, he appeared in Miami federal court on November 2, according to the Justice Department. Prosecutors say a scheme sent letters made to look like personal messages from psychics, claiming recipients would soon gain a windfall if they first paid. Thousands of people, many of them older and at risk, allegedly lost more than $4 million. Authorities allege Chemla opened US bank accounts in the psychics' names, cashed checks from victims and sent the money to European accounts run by a partner between September 2016 and November 2020. He holds American, French and Israeli citizenship and faces up to two decades in prison if convicted. Investigators with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service are looking into the case.

Why it matters: The case highlights how fraud schemes that rely on domestic bank accounts and overseas transfers can drain money from vulnerable people.

Summary by Dextape, based on reporting by DailyHodl. Machine-written from DailyHodl’s report and checked against it · How Dextape writes