Jail time might be in her future.
An itinerant Manhattan fortune teller with a shady historical past is accused of scamming a 43-year-old mom of two who cleans lodge rooms for a dwelling out of $87,000.
Pamela Ufie, 28, was arrested close to Bryant Park Thursday night and charged with one depend of grand larceny and two counts of fraudulent accosting, in response to courtroom paperwork.
The crystal ball swindler allegedly tricked her sufferer into handing over 1000’s of {dollars} in a scheme relationship again to 2023, in response to non-public investigator and former NYPD cop Bob Nygaard, who tipped off native police.
“This is the fourth time I’ve helped the cops with Pamela Ufie,” Nygaard informed The Publish Sunday. “She’s a self-proclaimed psychic who preys upon vulnerable people and steals from them.”
He mentioned the most recent case is a typical type of the fortune teller’s con sport.
The sufferer was strolling by Occasions Sq. after work on April 11, 2023, when Ufie approached her and informed her she had a “darkness” on her, the PI mentioned.
Initially, the sufferer paid Ufie $100, Nygaard mentioned. However then she was informed the so-called clairvoyant wanted to do extra “research.”
Ufie informed the sufferer that her son was going to die if she didn’t let her assist elevate what she described as a “generational curse,” in response to the investigator.
“Ufie also told the victim that she and her son would die if she didn’t help lift the darkness,” mentioned Nygaard, who was additionally a cop in Nassau County.
The alleged grifter informed the sufferer the one strategy to elevate the curse was if she gave her cash, since cash is the foundation of all evil, and he or she and others would cleanse it after which return it, he mentioned.
However the money was by no means returned and the sufferer was out cash she had saved in hopes of finally shopping for a home for her household.
The fleecing went on till Oct. 26, 2023, Nygaard mentioned.
Ufie pleaded not responsible throughout her arraignment Friday. She didn’t return a number of calls searching for remark.
“She is presumed innocent and all the evidence will be presented in the courtroom,” her lawyer, Albert Dayan, informed Gothamist.
Nygaard mentioned he needed to fly as much as the town from his house in Florida to plead with police to arrest the accused con artist.
The retired cop noticed the phony fortune teller Thursday afternoon close to the New York Public Library’s predominant department subsequent to Bryant Park — an space which she favored to frequent he mentioned, and known as 911. Officers responded and made the arrest.
It was the conclusion of his greater than two-year investigation, he mentioned.
Nygaard mentioned he was concerned in all 4 of Ufie’s circumstances, together with the primary almost a decade in the past involving her mother-in-law, who was accused of operating the same scheme.
The fake psychic has had quite a few run-ins with the regulation in 2023 and two earlier arrests for grand larceny in 2021 and 2022, in response to police sources.
Nygaard mentioned he focuses on some of these schemes and has labored with federal investigators and police departments from 12 states on fortune teller circumstances, and has helped recuperate $12 million for victims.
He mentioned he usually encounters members of regulation enforcement — each cops and prosecutors — who don’t know that invoking psychic powers is commonly unlawful.
“People go into a police precinct and they’re told it’s a civil matter, it’s a civil matter, it’s a civil matter,” he mentioned. “But it’s not a civil matter, it’s a criminal one – there is a law on the books.”
There’s the truth is a regulation in New York making it unlawful to take cash to follow “occult powers.” Fortune telling is a category B misdemeanor, punishable by as much as 90 days in jail. Nygaard mentioned it’s a regulation that’s hardly ever enforced, nonetheless.
He mentioned too usually, regulation enforcement appears in charge the sufferer in these circumstances. However he’s seen individuals from all walks of life come to him for assist after getting bamboozled by the clairvoyant scammers.
“I had a guy that was a rocket scientist, a teacher, an NYPD cop even,” he mentioned. “It’s not a matter of education or intelligence. What law enforcement doesn’t realize is that anybody – anybody – will fall victim to a psychic scam if you’re in a vulnerable moment in your life.”
Extra reporting by Larry Celona.
