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A man from New York City has been arrested for allegedly cheating an elderly woman out of over Rs 17 lakh by offering fortune-telling services, CBS News reported.
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According to local police cited by CBS News, 32-year-old Hemanth Kumar Muneppa was taken into custody on Thursday after the woman, aged 68, reported that he had demanded large sums of money to perform rituals and offer spiritual guidance.
The woman first paid Muneppa $20,000 (around Rs 17 lakh) earlier this month for his services. When she returned for additional services, he allegedly asked for another $42,000 (around Rs 35 lakh). Muneppa then accompanied her to a bank to withdraw the money, but the staff raised an alarm and contacted the police, who arrested him on the spot.
Muneppa was associated with a company, Anjana Ji, which claims to offer services like “evil spirit removal” and “love spell casting”, according to the company’s website.
Under New York State law, fortune telling is illegal if conducted for a fee, unless it is explicitly for entertainment purposes. As per the statute quoted by CBS, charging money for claiming to influence or remove curses, offer spiritual solutions, or predict the future is a Class B misdemeanor.
“A person is guilty of fortune telling when, for a fee or compensation which he directly or indirectly solicits or receives, he claims or pretends to tell fortunes, or holds himself out as being able, by claimed or pretended use of occult powers, to answer questions or give advice on personal matters or to exorcise, influence or affect evil spirits or curses; except that this section does not apply to a person who engages in the aforedescribed conduct as part of a show or exhibition solely for the purpose of entertainment or amusement,” the law reads.
The man is now facing charges of grand larceny and illegal fortune telling and is scheduled to be produced before court.
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