A 31-year-old Riverside man who marketed himself as a fortune teller and curse breaker has been arrested for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars from victims.
Riverside police arrested Andres Pena Meneses on Tuesday, accusing him of grand theft and lying to defraud people. He reportedly ran a fortune-telling venture out of an office in the 3500 block of Arlington Avenue. He told clients his name was “Carlos” and originally came from Colombia, police said.
One alleged victim told police she paid Meneses to have her future told. After telling her that someone had cursed her and her children, he offered to remove it for a hefty, extra fee.
The woman eventually paid Meneses more than $50,000 for so-called “voodoo sessions,” which involved tarot cards, altars, “satanic” symbols, and a small python.
The Riverside Police Department’s Economic Crimes Unit launched an investigation of Meneses over the summer because of complaints by the woman and other alleged victims.
“While at the business conducting the search, several customers arrived and told detectives Meneses instructed them to bring their bed mattress from home," Riverside police spokesperson Officer Ryan Railsback said. Meneses and his staff would cut open the mattresses and claim to have found a live snake inside with “demonic type items,” stating the victims' family was in grave danger, according to police.
Investigators later confirmed the snake was Meneses’ pet that he kept in a terrarium in the office.
Railsback said other victims had contacted Meneses after hearing advertisements in which he promised to cure ailments like “diabetes, headaches, sleep disorders, and nightmares."
Detectives have since discovered that authorities previously caught Meneses perpetrating a similar scam in 2019 in Chicago, when he portrayed himself as a “faith healer.”
Anyone with information relevant to the investigation is encouraged to contact the Economic Crimes Unit at (951) 353-7117.
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