Photo: Riverside Police Department
A Riverside man who claims to be a fortune-teller was arrested on suspicion of grand theft and theft by false pretenses after a woman said she paid him thousands to rid her of a curse.
According to the Press-Telegram, the woman told police she visited the business in the 3500 block of Arlington Avenue in Riverside over the summer to have her fortune read.
The fortune-teller, 31-year-old Andres Pena Meneses, who went by the name "Carlos," convinced her she had parasites in her body that he could remove for a fee of several hundred dollars.
Authorities said Meneses contacted the woman numerous times and convinced her that her family was now cursed and her children were in danger.
In total, the woman paid Meneses over $50,000.
Detectives from the Riverside Police Department (RPD) served a search warrant at Meneses' home and business on Tuesday, October 26.
Officer Ryan Railsback, a spokesman for the RPD, said that detectives met more of Meneses customers who told them Meneses had told them to bring him their mattresses from home.
Authorities believe that Meneses and his staff planted a live snake and letters in the mattresses so he could later cut them open to show the customers their families were in danger.
During the search, detectives located a snake, a voodoo doll, tarot cards, altars, religious and satanic-type objects, and a "significant" amount of cash.
“Detectives believe there are many more victims and that the Spanish-speaking community was specifically targeted,” said Railsback.
Meneses was arrested and booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center on October 26. He was released later that same day after posting $57,000 bail.