A gay man has attempted to sue a psychic medium he says swindled him out of $1million in a quest to find him love and banish “dark spirits” from his family.
According to a lawsuit filed Sunday with New York County Supreme Court in Manhattan, William Young of Brooklyn says he met the psychic in question in May 2021. Young was working at the gay bar XOXO in Manhattan. The soothsayer ran her psychic reading business from premises nearby.
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According to his lawsuit Young is gay and “suffers from a series of mental health issues including bipolar disorder and depression.” He became one of the psychic’s regular customers and the two became close.
“[She] told Young that his family was cursed by dark spirits and blamed them for his mental health difficulties. She claimed that the dark spirits were very strong and that so long as they were there, Young will not be able to find love or happiness or have a good relationship with his family,” Young’s lawyer wrote in the complaint.
“She told him that she could perform complex rituals that would help with the situation. She said these rituals would help Young find a future soul mate and also put him in a better situation financially.”
However, she allegedly said the strength of the “arcane and occult arts” was dependent on how much he was willing to spend, reports New York Daily News.
Young’s lawsuit says his first payment to her in May 2021 was for $100,000. Shortly later, he says made six more payments in a single week, ranging between $1,000-$20,000. He continued making payments over a six month period.
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In June 2021, the psychic allegedly told Young that she needed a car in which to pick up ingredients for spells and consult with her spiritual superiors on the best ways to help him. He duly put down a $5,500 deposit and paid the monthly fee on a leasehold vehicle for her.
The lawsuit goes on to allege that the psychic instructed Young to pay large chunks of money into third-party accounts, which would transfer the money to her.
Young says he ran out of money himself and began to use cash from a family joint account. However, the alleged scam came to an end when Young’s bank declined a payment to the psychic’s account of $496,000 via a third-party company. Young’s bank then froze his account.
In total, Young says he paid out just over $1million. Needless to say, he did not find his soul mate. Rather than help his mental health, the lawsuit said his relationship with the psychic worsened his feelings of anxiety. It alleged fraud and sought damages.
Three hours after the New York Daily News ran its story on Monday about the lawsuit, in an unexpected turnaround, Young voluntarily dropped his claims against the psychic and the other third-party defendants. Queerty has contacted Young’s lawyers for further comment.
ptn2719
Seriously?! What lawyer would advise this guy that he had a chance to win this case? He VOLUNTARILY handed over the money. No one forced him to give money to this “psychic”.
I suspect that, once Nancy realized how this was playing in the social media sphere, he quickly dropped the suit because it was making him look like a complete and total fool.
wikidBSTN
Well, the lawyer figured the guy was dumb enough to pay the psychic – so he was next in line. 🙂
scotshot
ptn2719
Thousands of lawsuits are filed on scams and theft everyday, year in & year out.
The victim’s name is William Young, not Nancy. Did you just throw in the derogatory name due to your homophobia?
Shoo!!!
Openminded
So we are to believe that a bartender had even the original $100K to pay down, much less some of the alleged follow up payments? Then he suddenly drops the lawsuit after it goes public?? Yeah, he’s got mental problems.
MISTERJETT
Nancy? who’s Nancy?
m
????
ZzBomb
Remember kids, love of self is a prerequisite of loving others……. and your own right hand is FREE!
Heywood Jablowme
Why does Queerty think this bar is “now closed”? Google says it’s “closed” until 5pm, but the bar still has a website and its Covid-era hours are 5pm to 11pm.
Having said that, I’m amazed that an employee of a gay NYC bar has hundreds of thousands of dollars to throw around on anything, never mind a psychic.
Does Queerty’s own psychic Brandon Adler have any advice? (hopefully more cost-effective!)
Mr. Stadnick
This is in the running for the stupidest story this sight has ever run.
Mack
If you’re going to criticize then at least learn how to spell. It’s SITE, NOT SIGHT.
Thad
I foresee a new career path.
Fahd
This serves as a warning to gay millionaires and others not to be taken in by psychics or other scammers. Nothing new here.
Jaquelope
It is very telling that the amount of “power” of a (so-called) psychic is tied to the amount of money one gives them.
That reminded me of something I was told years ago by a :psychic” who claimed to channel the Hindu Goddess, Lakshmi, who said that he was the only one who could help her exert her power. If that was true, as Hulk said to Loki, “Puny god.” A true, powerful god or goddess should not need help from a puny. powerless human.
Inspector 57
“It is very telling that the amount of “power” of a (so-called) psychic is tied to the amount of money one gives them.”
Yeah, this is shady, no doubt. But… It is, however, a widely accepted belief/practice among many legitimate providers that the client will be more motivated and more likely to succeed if s/he has to make a contribution (financial or otherwise) to participate in the therapy.
DCFarmboy
XOXO must pay really well if this guy has $1 million to blow on a psychic. Something tells me he dropped the case because it was BS.
GatesOfLightTarot
As a queer professional tarot reader you should know that no reputable tarot reader will ever tell you there’s a curse or dark energy around you and offer to remove it for money. This is the first sign of a scam artist—and people like this give the service tarot readers provide a bad name.
In fact, there are laws around this in New York State, so he could definitely sue—others have sued in cases like this and won.
This is why, if you go to a website of a reputable tarot reader, they will explain what they are allowed to do under the laws of the state they live in.
I get lots of clients asking about love and relationship. My goal is to help people. And I never tell people to come back regularly. My goal is for people to find their own agency. Tarot doesn’t tell you the future—it shows you the present with clarity and objective distance that helps you make better decisions to create the future you want.
If you ever go to a reader and have the experience in the article, report this business immediately, because in NY they’re breaking the law.
Openminded
Not only does the tarot reader give other readers a bad name, the presumably gay bartender gives other gay guys a bad name.
gjg64
Because the ability give advice by flipping over a few Medieval cards is a proven science.
Ken A.
I agree. I too read Tarot and do Astrology for people for reasonable fees. And don’t use it until I’m sure they’re satisfied. And certainly don’t talk about curses, hexes and spells. I also discourage dependency. I feel bad for this guy, a vulnerable person was taken advantage of. He should’ve stayed with the lawsuit. But maybe they settled.
cuteguy
Who does the editing at Queerty? The lawsuit line went from US dollars to pounds. Wtf?!
humble charlie
Unfortunately there is no pill to cure stupid.
“reputable tarot reader”?! Has the world gone insane?!!!
Inspector 57
Totally agreed.
We need to get back to phrenology.
johncp56
sad being a thirsty dumb ass. not everyone with money has brains, definitely not going to find a lover unless you pay for him wow wow, and for the psychic medium jail time con
skibum
OMG… seriously, people, just STOP giving your hard earned money to “psychics”. They are NOT in any way psychic, nor can they predict anything in the future, nor how your love life will go, nor can they actually put a curse on you. You can, of course, curse yourself by throwing away your money to these scammers, so just don’t! If any of these scammers could really predict something that hasn’t yet happened, don’t you think they would all be predicting the next winning mega lottery numbers and retire on the beach at their own private Caribbean Island??? Jeez Louise!!!
wmbtncrt61
Three things:
Young was working at the gay bar XOXO in Manhattan. And he has a million dollars to spent on a psychic? I want a job at that bar.
Find him love. Apps and free.
Banish “dark spirits” from his family. Middle age? Did some put a curse on his family? Witches.
For a million dollars, he could have visited Dr. Phil.
user20345
This woman tried to scam me, I paid $500 for a cleansing but knew something was up when she asked me for THOUSANDS right afterwards. For all of you saying he was dumb etc, this woman is gifted. But she abuses her gift.