By Tim Binnall
A self-proclaimed psychic in New York City has been arrested for allegedly swindling a woman out of nearly $90,000. Fortune teller Pamela Ufie was reportedly taken into custody last Thursday in response to a complaint from the victim, who explained that the scheme began back in 2022 when she first fell under the spell of the mystic. Approached by the soothsayer while walking through Times Square, the woman was informed that her family was stricken by a "generational curse" that the psychic could 'fortunately' help her eradicate for a price.
Taken in by the worrisome warning, police say, the victim initially forked over $100 for a proverbial preliminary psychic assessment. Alas, as so often happens with faux fortune tellers, the consultation proved to be quite costly as Ufie convinced the woman to continue paying her increasing amounts of money over the next several months for "rituals that would help defeat the curse" and the various accoutrements, such as "platinum spiritual candles and mercury," required for such elaborate supernatural workings. All told, the victim was said to have been bilked out of a staggering $87,000 before running out of money and realizing that she had been hoodwinked.
Credited with helping to bring Ulfie to justice is private investigator and former NYPD officer Bob Nygaard, who has made it his mission to thwart psychic schemes unfolding in the city. Lamenting that authorities often dismiss such complaints as "a civil matter," he stressed that there is actually a rarely enforced New York state law against fortune telling, meaning that it is a genuine criminal issue. Fortunately, in this case, cops took the situation seriously and, after arresting Ulfie, charged her with grand larceny and fraudulent accosting. Though time will tell what the future holds for the psychic, one imagines that a fortune teller enlisted to look into her future would offer a rather dim forecast.