Kumari Shreya‘Call Me Miss Cleo’ is a captivating HBO Max documentary that focuses on the life of Youree Dell Cleomili Harris, who became well-known as Miss Cleo. As a part of the Psychic Readers Network (PRN), she would appear in many television infomercials and claimed to be a psychic from Jamaica. However, in 2002, she and the company were charged with deceiving the public through advertising, billing, and collection threats.
While Cleo herself was later cleared, Steven Feder and Peter Stolz, the co-owners of PRN, had to pay a hefty sum to the Federal Trade Commission. Additionally, the duo had to clear a large number of debts that their victims apparently “owed” them. Their actions were heavily discussed in the movie, making many viewers curious about the current whereabouts of the businessmen. Well, we are here to explore the same!
Who Are Steven Feder and Peter Stolz?
As the owners of the massively successful Psychic Readers Network, Steven Feder and Peter Stolz were well-known within the entertainment industry. Since Miss Cleo’s debut as a Jamaican shaman in PRN’s infomercials, the company reaped about a billion dollars in profit. While they offered the public free readings for the first three minutes, they would start charging $4.99 for every minute after that. Though the callers wanted to get a reading from the TV star herself, they were usually talked to by one of the hired PRN Phone Psychics.
The legal woes of PRN started as early as 2001 after multiple lawsuits were fired against them in several states, including New York, Pennsylvania, and Indiana. However, the case built in Florida and the one filed by the Federal Trade Commission in 2002 began the organization’s downfall. As mentioned previously, Miss Cleo was cleared of the fraud charges, though the same was not true for Steven and Peter. As a consequence of their actions, PRN, and its sister company Access Resource Services, had to pay FTC $5 million in fines and forgive debts worth $500 million. Additionally, any uncashed cheques were also returned to the senders.
What Happened to Steven Feder and Peter Stolz?
As of writing, Steven apparently retains the position of a Psychic Readers Network owner. The company has actually dialed down its workings following the lawsuit and seems to have shifted to an online method of operation. Their official website does claim they are under new management, but the details on the same are scarce. Yet it’s imperative to note Steven was again involved in a legal battle after PRN filed a lawsuit against Rockstar Games.
According to the case filed by PRN, the character named Auntie Poulet in Rockstar’s famous video game ‘Grand Theft Auto: Vice City’ was too similar to the persona of Miss Cleo. Interestingly, Youree Harris did serve as the voice actor of said character, but the former television network claimed they had a copyright on her entire brand name. Many commented on the timing of the case as it was filed in 2017, nearly 15 years after the game’s release — the statute of limitations for copyright infringement is three years. This led several people to believe that PRN was doing so due to the death of Miss Cleo in 2016. As the case went on, Rockstar asked Steven to be called for a deposition, something that the latter’s team was not happy with, only for there to seemingly be no result to the litigations.
Recently, Steven has been making buzz due to the sale and purchase of his properties. In March 2021, he and his significant other, Lou Thomas Trosclair, made headlines for the sale of their waterfront mansion in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for $14 million. Valued at $11.5 million, the house was brokered by Tim Elmes of the Elmes Group at Compass Florida. They also listed their Time Warner Center penthouse for sale for $40 million in May 2022. Located in the heart of New York City, New York, the place was apparently purchased by Steven for $24.4 million in 2008.
As for Peter Soltz, he has seemingly dialed down his affiliation with Psychic Readers Network following the conclusion of the 2002 lawsuit. In October of the same year, he left the position of PRN’s President behind after nearly a decade — he’d first taken responsibility in March 1993. As of writing, Peter works as a Managing Partner for Website Development Services LLC and is based in Miami, Florida. He has held the role since October 2005 and seems content to be there.
Read More: Patti Lucia and AnnDee Rucker: Where Are Miss Cleo’s Friends Now?
