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Miss Cleo Scandal Points to a Larger Problem
Sunday, March 24, 2002
By Edward L. Hudgins
MY VIEW -- The Tallahassee Democrat

If it were possible, Miss C might enrich herself by meeting the challenge of the James Randi Educational Foundation, one of her Florida neighbors, which offers a $1 million prize to anyone who can show, under proper observing conditions, evidence of any paranormal, supernatural, or occult powers.

Miss Cleo is in big trouble. In her TV commercials, in her Caribbean accent, she offers to tell her callers' fortunes, to divine their problems, and advise them on solutions through free tarot card readings. Florida's attorney general and the Federal Trade Commission both have charged her and her Psychic Readers Network with fraud.

Some charges concern her promise of a "free" reading. Apparently her psychic helpers who answer the phones fail to tell unwary callers when their free time is up and when the meter starts running at almost $5 per minute. She is also accused of using heavy-handed tactics to collect those bills.

Further, she's accused of lying about being a genuine Jamaican shaman. The name on her birth certificate is Youree Dell Harris and she was born in Los Angeles to apparently American parents.

There are two questions to be decided concerning Miss Cleo. One is whether she is guilty of violating laws against fraud and deception. The other is whether the 6 million people who allegedly use her services are guilty of such gullibility and self-deception that they are getting what they deserve.
(More: The Tallahassee Democrat News Source)
2002 © The Tallahassee Democrat, by Knight Ridder.

Dan