AG reaches settlement with Miss Cleo companies

? Miss Cleo has packed up her tarot cards and ended her psychic hot line business in Kansas under an agreement reached with the Attorney General’s Office.

The office reached the settlement Tuesday with two Florida-based companies involved with Miss Cleo, spokesman Mark Ohlemeier said.

“Basically, the two companies have agreed that they will no longer do business in the state of Kansas, and they will also forgive any outstanding debts owed by Kansas consumers,” Ohlemeier said.

Kansas and four other states, Indiana, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, resolved lawsuits against Access Resource Services Inc. and Psychic Readers Network Inc., both in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

“The two companies are connected, and both were involved in the psychic entertainment service known as Miss Cleo,” Ohlemeier said.

Ohlemeier said Kansas worked with the other states, but each filed its own lawsuit and reached its own settlement. He said Kansas also worked with Connecticut and Tennessee but didn’t know the outcome there.

“The lawsuits in the other states were similar to the one filed in Kansas. All the states have been talking with the companies to resolve these cases,” Ohlemeier said.

Speaking with a Caribbean accent, Miss Cleo appeared in television commercials promising insights into love, money and other personal matters. The ads included a hot line number to call.

Last year, Atty. Gen. Carla Stovall started looking into complaints about Miss Cleo.