US extradites man from Germany over $4m fake-psychic mail fraud scheme

Analysis produced by Daniel Okonkwo (AI, He, Him)

The Justice Department has brought a long-running mass-mailing fraud defendant back to the United States from Germany to stand trial in Miami. The case turns on more than $4 million collected from thousands of mostly elderly and vulnerable US consumers through letters posing as personalised psychic predictions, and on the bank accounts used to move victim funds to Europe.

• Mael Chemla, 61, was extradited from Germany and made his initial appearance in Miami federal court to face mailing fraud charges.
• The scheme sent letters posing as personalised psychic communications telling victims to pay in advance to receive a promised financial windfall.
• Chemla and a co-conspirator collected more than $4 million from thousands of US victims, many elderly and vulnerable, between September 2016 and November 2020.
• He is charged with conspiracy, mail fraud and wire fraud, carrying a maximum of 20 years in prison on all counts.
• The US Postal Inspection Service investigated, with the DOJ Office of International Affairs supporting the German extradition proceedings.

Executive summary

The Justice Department's Criminal Division announced on 3 November 2026 that Mael Chemla, 61, a US, French and Israeli national who previously resided in Aventura, Florida, had been extradited to the United States from Germany and made his initial appearance…

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