The fortune teller had already seen the future, and the news was wonderful: a large sum of money was on its way. For the prediction to come true, only one small detail remained: sending a payment. According to U.S. authorities, this was how an international network managed to persuade thousands of Americans, many of them elderly or financially vulnerable, to part with their money.
At the center of the case is an Israeli citizen, Mael Chemla, a 61-year-old businessman who lived in Jerusalem and Florida. Extradited from Germany to the United States, he appeared Monday in federal court in Miami. Prosecutors accuse him and another associate of collecting more than $4 million over approximately four years.
Mael Chemla
(Photo: From Mael Chemla's Instagram account)
Court documents describe a scheme that sounds like something out of a story about street swindlers, but was carried out through an organized operation involving mailed letters, checks and bank accounts. From September 2016 to November 2020, victims across the United States received letters presented as personal messages from people claiming to have supernatural powers. The supposed psychics told recipients they had discovered that a large sum of money was coming their way, but that they first needed to make a payment to receive it. The payments were real. The promised riches were another matter.
According to prosecutors, Chemla's alleged role went beyond marketing or distributing the letters. He opened bank accounts in the United States under the names of purported fortune tellers, deposited checks sent by recipients and subsequently transferred the money to European bank accounts controlled by his associate. Authorities allege that he helped turn dubious promises into actual payments before moving the proceeds across the Atlantic.
The indictment does not yet identify the alleged fortune tellers, the amounts demanded from individual victims or the European associate. The exact number of victims is also absent from the court documents made public, beyond the description of "thousands." Prosecutors emphasize, however, that many were elderly or particularly vulnerable. The letters' personalized wording is central to the allegations: Rather than ordinary advertisements for a psychic service, they were designed to convince recipients that someone had specifically foreseen financial good fortune coming their way.
Chemla was arrested in Germany on May 13, 2026, and spent months awaiting a decision on the extradition request. After German authorities approved his extradition, he was transferred to the United States and made his first court appearance in Miami on Monday. He faces charges of conspiracy and mail and wire fraud. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison.
People close to Chemla, however, tell a very different story and have launched a fundraising campaign on his behalf. "Our beloved brother, father and friend," Linoi Chemla writes on GoFundMe. According to her, one of Chemla's clients in France is facing legal proceedings over allegations of false claims and misleading advertising, while Chemla himself was merely a service provider. His supporters claim that U.S. authorities are persecuting him and are seeking donations to pay lawyers who will help prove his innocence. The fundraising target on the American platform is $13,000.
A parallel campaign launched in France by Corinne Weil has set a target of 15,000 euros. The latest update states that Chemla has already been extradited and is being held in Miami, and that his family must now contend with legal expenses and the possibility of posting bail to secure his release. These claims stand in contrast to the prosecution's allegations that Chemla personally opened the bank accounts and handled the victims' money.
Who is the man with three citizenships who has found himself at the center of such an unusual case? Chemla has longstanding ties to the Jewish community and Israel. A profile on the French alumni network Copains d'avant indicates that he attended Yavne High School in Paris, a prominent Jewish educational institution, between 1979 and 1984. He later entered the business world, serving, among other positions, as CEO of Biosmose, a company selling beauty and wellness products, including anti-wrinkle and anti-aging treatments.
On LinkedIn, Chemla describes himself as an international business development professional associated with MCD Holding and TREMA, a French advertising agency specializing in media buying and campaign planning. He lists Hebrew and French as his native languages. Florida state records identify him as a manager of a company registered in 2013 and a real estate investment company registered in 2023.
Alongside his business activities, Chemla was also involved in pro-Israel initiatives within Miami's French-speaking Jewish community, helping organize advocacy events focused on U.S.-Israel relations. French commentator Guy Millière, who was invited to speak at one of Chemla's events, described him as a warm and friendly French-Israeli entrepreneur with Zionist views who had chosen to move to the United States for business reasons.
The alleged fraud involving Chemla bears similarities to a much larger case uncovered in the United States. In 2024, Patrice Runner, a Canadian and French citizen, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for operating a fraudulent psychic mail scheme that extracted more than $175 million from approximately 1.3 million Americans. The letters appeared to be personal messages but were actually distributed on a massive scale. Those who were persuaded to pay received additional letters designed to extract even more money. The methods described in the two cases are strikingly similar.
The investigation into Chemla is being conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. One of the prosecutors in the case, Ann Entwistle, previously handled another fraud case involving letters from purported fortune tellers. The case against Chemla was filed in September 2025 but remained under seal until this week. Prosecutors are seeking to keep him in custody, citing concerns that he could flee the United States. A hearing on his detention and the charges against him is scheduled for later Wednesday.