MISS Cleo was a popular psychic reader before controversy plagued her public image.

The television personality was well-known for appearing on the Psychic Readers Network in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Miss Cleo was a popular television personality on the Psychic Readers NetworkCredit: HBO Max

Cleo Harris in Lake Worth, Florida, on February 24, 2009Credit: Photo by Lilly Echeverria/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images – Getty

Miss Cleo — real name Youree Dell Harris — was a TV personality and popular psychic reader.

From 1997 to 2003, she portrayed Miss Cleo on the Psychic Readers Network, a pay-per-call service, and was featured in multiple commercials.

She claimed to be a shaman from Jamaica and would advertise calls for viewers to have their fortune read. She also encouraged them to “call me now!” per Newsweek.

She was well-known for her catchphrase, “The cards never lie.”

In the late 1990s, Miss Cleo and the Psychic Readers Network were hit with allegations of misleading advertising and fraud.

Per Newsweek, customers alleged they received emails stating, “[Miss Cleo has] been authorized to issue you a Special Tarot Reading! … It is vital that you call immediately!”

However, telemarketers reading from scripts allegedly answered these calls, rather than psychics using tarot cards, per Slate.

Though most readings were advertised as free, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said that almost six million people called in, which totaled about $1 billion in charges, The Washington Post reported.

The calls cost an average of $60 each.

In 1999, North Carolina filed a lawsuit that accused Access Resource Services (operating as Psychic Readers Network) of fraud and false advertising, per Newsweek.

Other states followed suit, including Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Indiana.

In 2002, the FTC filed a complaint against Access Resource Services, Psychic Readers Network, and their officers, Steven L. Feder and Peter Stolz.

The FTC alleged they participated in deceptive advertising, billing, and collection practices.

According to the federal agency, the complaint “specifically alleged that the defendants misrepresented that those calling for readings ‘would receive [a] psychic reading at no charge,’ ‘did not incur costs when they remain on the telephone with the psychic readers,’ and ‘were obligated to pay charges for calls made to the defendants’ audio text numbers that consumers were not obligated to pay.”

“The lesson in this case is that companies that make a promise in an ad need to deliver on it – whether it’s about availability, performance, or cost,” said J. Howard Beales III, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.

“I’m no psychic, but I can foresee this: If you make deceptive claims, there is an FTC action in your future.”

In the 2002 settlement, Access Resource Services and Psychic Readers Network “agreed to a stipulated court order stopping all collection efforts on accounts or claims from consumers who purchased or purportedly purchased their pay-per-call or audiotext services,” per the FTC.

They also forgave about $500 million in outstanding customer charges as part of the FTC settlement.

The defendants also had to pay $5 million to the FTC as part of the settlement.

The Florida-based companies and their officers ran “a massive 900 number scheme known to the public as the ‘Miss Cleo’ psychic lines,” the federal agency said.

Though Miss Cleo herself wasn’t indicted in the lawsuit, the legal battles brought to light that she wasn’t from Jamaica as she had stated, per Newsweek.

She was 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 in Los Angeles, California, and her parents were American-𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 citizens.

In a 2006 interview with The Advocate, Miss Cleo said, “I am who I say I am,” noting her Jamaican roots.

In regard to her identity as a psychic, she said, “I’m more a shaman, an elder in a community who has visions and gives direction to people in their village.

“My clients and my students are my village. I take care of this community. If you sit down at my table, you have to take away a lesson and not just learn what is going to happen tomorrow.

I’m no psychic, but I can foresee this: If you make deceptive claims, there is an FTC action in your future.

J. Howard Beales IIIDirector of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection

“I also perform weddings — both gay and straight marriages — and house cleansings and blessings.”

Following the controversies, Miss Cleo — using the name Cleomili Harris — was featured in the 2014 documentary, Hotline, in which she talked about her time at Psychic Readers Network.

She also worked in advertising and voiced the character of Auntie Poulet in the 2002 video game, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

Miss Cleo tragically died at age 53 on July 26, 2016, following a battle with colon cancer.

MISS CLEO’S LIFETIME

A Lifetime movie about Miss Cleo — Miss Cleo: Her Rise and Fall — is premiering on Saturday, August 10, 2024, at 8 pm Eastern.

It will be available for streaming the following day.

The program “picks up in the late ’90s when single mom Youree Dell Harris finds herself desperate to take care of her family and takes a job at the Psychic Readers Network — only to become one of the network’s most beloved personalities, Miss Cleo.”

Its description continues, “But her challenges don’t end there and when the network faces allegations of fraud and deception, they turn their sights on Miss Cleo.

“For the first time ever, Miss Cleo’s side of the story will finally be told.”

Miss Cleo was involved in controversies with the Psychic Readers NetworkCredit: Photo by Lilly Echeverria/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images – Getty

The television personality tragically died at age 53 in July 2016Credit: HBO Max