A man pretending to possess psychic abilities was indicted on Monday on charges of indecent assault, attempted rape and fraudulently obtaining benefits.
According to the charges, the defendant, Mike Hayoun, 43, pretended to be an astrologer possessing clairvoyant abilities on social media and dating apps to lure women and take advantage of them.
Mike Hayoun is suspected of sexually assaulting patients in his clinic
Hayoun acted systematically since 2012, telling his victims they were cursed and have to undergo a ceremony to remove the spell, during which he committed the sexual offenses attributed to him, for some of which he even received payment fraudulently.
He earned his victims' trust using personal information he pulled from an illegal civil database.
"[The defendant] used to take advantage of the complainants' distress to exert emotional pressure on them," the indictment bill read.
Mike Hayoun
"In order to fraudulently obtain the consent of the complainants to commit various sexual offenses, the defendant performed rituals to remove curses cast on the complainants. As part of the rituals, he committed acts of sodomy, rape, indecent acts on seven complainants and also received money from some of them fraudulently."
"The defendant's systematic actions, the careful planning and the complex false representations he concocted testify to the severity of his actions and the danger he poses.