Psychic Reading Scammer Denied Bid to Undo Fraud Convictions

A man convicted of selling bogus psychic readings and phony magical trinkets through the mail lost his appeal to undo the verdict after the Second Circuit on Wednesday said the government’s theory of fraud was sound.

Patrice Runner argued that magic obviously isn’t real, and his customers got the entertainment they were looking for and thus suffered no harm. The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit disagreed.

The letters Runner sent to customers lied about who they were from and about what customers would receive, and the scheme sought to induce customers to part with their money. Under ...