Queens man arrested in Hicksville, charged with fortune-telling, stealing from LI woman
Nassau police say they arrested a Queens man in Nassau, charging him with fortunetelling and grand larceny. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams, Jr.
A Queens man has been criminally charged with fortune-telling — a misdemeanor in New York — along with grand larceny, after a 68-year-old woman in Hicksville paid $20,000 for his services and he drove her to a bank to get $42,000 more, according to the Nassau County Police Department.
Hemanth Kumar Muneppa, 33, of South Richmond Hill, pleaded not guilty on Friday at First District Court in Hempstead, where a judge freed him on non-monetary conditions, according to the state's online court database. The case is due back in court Aug. 14.
A felony complaint, signed by Officer Jonathan Baruccheri of the county police, accuses the defendant of "falsely representing himself as a fortune teller with the power to combat evil and dark spirits." The woman paid him $20,000 on July 3 to "purchase power' to fight evil spirits." He later allegedly signed a statement saying, "I did a few palm readings and astrology readings... She gave me a bunch of money... they were all $100 bills and was a stack about an inch tall."
The arrest was made Thursday in the parking lot of a Chase bank on Broadway, where the woman had been driven to and told to withdraw the additional money, according to the authorities.
“The victim was advised she may be being scammed and police were called for assistance,” a police news release said.
The woman’s name wasn’t disclosed.
The fortune teller was working at Anjana Ji on South Broadway, the release said. His website says he’s is a psychic reader, spiritual healer, black magic removal specialist, a specialist in love spells who offers the "NO. 1 TOP INDIAN ASTROLOGY SERVICES.”
“GET YOUR EX LOVER BACK,” the website says.
A text message sent to a WhatsApp number listed on the website was undelivered.
The release did not specify how the defendant allegedly committed grand larceny or attempted grand larceny, another charge he’s facing.
The fortune-telling law states: “A person is guilty of fortune telling when, for a fee or compensation which he directly or indirectly solicits or receives, he claims or pretends to tell fortunes, or holds himself out as being able, by claimed or pretended use of occult powers, to answer questions or give advice on personal matters or to exorcise, influence or affect evil spirits or curses; except that this section does not apply to a person who engages in the aforedescribed conduct as part of a show or exhibition solely for the purpose of entertainment or amusement.”
Prosecuting fortune-telling has been challenged on First Amendment grounds, including by the American Civil Liberties Union.
A May 2025 article in the Columbia Undergraduate Law Review said it's proven difficult to prosecute alleged fortune-telling scams via grand larceny statutes.
“It is virtually impossible to prove that a fortune teller, who insists that her actions are spiritual or possibly religious in nature, does not actually believe in her practices,” the article says.
Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.
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