Midtown Psychic Conned Victims Out Of $800K, Investigator Says

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — A self-proclaimed psychic is facing felony charges after being busted for scamming her victims out of more than $800,000, a private investigator who helped take down the fortune teller said.

Ann Thompson, 47, was arrested Wednesday and charged with multiple counts felony grand larceny, according to court records. Thompson conducted her psychic schemes out of a West 35th Street building going by the name "Psychic Zoe," private investigator Bob Nygaard said.

The victims of Thompson paid her at least $813,674 over the span of four years, Nygaard said.

The majority of money was paid by a Canadian woman in her 40s who gave the psychic at least $741,244 from 2013 to 2017, Nygaard said. The woman, who was in her 40s, turned to the fortune teller because she was experiencing relationship troubles.

The years-long con started with a $5 reading at Thompson's West 35th Street business. The psychic claimed to have powers passed down to her from her Cherokee heritage and told the mother that she was one of the most cursed people she has ever seen, the victim said in a statement.

"I can’t stress enough how convincing Zoe was and how threatening she made everything seem," the woman, who wish to remain anonymous, said in a statement. "I honestly believed that I, and all my loved ones, were facing grave danger and/or death if I didn’t follow her every instruction. All the while she demanded my complete trust."

Over the next five years Thompson conned the woman into providing her multiple large payments that went toward buying gold bricks, gold coins and jewelry the psychic claimed she needed for rituals. Thompson promised the rituals would provide the victim "spirit armor" to protect herself and her family from curses and demons, Nygaard said.

A second victim, a businessman from the Midwest, visited Thompson's psychic business for a $40 tarot card reading while he was visiting New York in 2017. Much like the first victim, Thompson told the man his aura was "very damaged from my parents and their parents." After a few meetings, the fortune teller was able to convince the man to give her more than $72,000 to purchase gold coins needed for a healing ritual.

The man didn't realize he was being conned until a family member researched psychic scams, he said in a statement. When he asked Thompson for his money back, she maintained the con and told him she couldn't return the money.

"Psychic Zoe took advantage of me when I was vulnerable and at the lowest point of my life," the man said in a statement.

Thompson is currently being held on $50,000 bail, according to court records. She will appear in court next on June 27, according to the records.

Photo courtesy Bob Nygaard