Thomas John | |
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Born | Thomas John Flanagan July 8, 1984[1] |
Nationality | American |
Occupation | Psychic medium |
Part of a series on the |
Paranormal |
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Thomas John Flanagan, known professionally as Thomas John, is a former Chicago drag queen,[3] who claims to be a medium with psychic abilities. He currently stars in the reality TV show Seatbelt Psychic. In 2009, John was arrested and pleaded guilty to felony fraud for posting fake apartment ads on Craigslist and stealing the security deposits from renters.[4]
Prior to becoming a medium, John performing in drag around Chicago under the name Lady Vera Parker.[1][3]
John first started working professionally as a medium in his mid-20s, and now divides his work between New York City and Los Angeles. He counts among his clients Julianne Moore, Jennifer Lopez, Stevie Nicks, Goldie Hawn, and Courteney Cox.[5] Despite the scientific skeptic consensus that mediumship is a con,[6][7] John has convinced some mass media reporters that he has paranormal powers:[8]
Lifetime has given John a reality TV show Seatbelt Psychic. This show began its run on July 11, 2018, and stars John as a ride-share driver who surprises passengers when he delivers messages from their deceased relatives. It is produced by Zeb Newman, Ryan Simpkins, Sarah Happel, Emma Conway, Brie Miranda Bryant, and Ben Winston.[12][9]
The Paranormal Herald World News, which reports on psychics and mediums generally in a positive way, said "Thomas John, the self-proclaimed Manhattan Medium, was once a well-known Chicago drag queen busted in 2009 for posting bogus apartment ads on Craigslist and stealing security deposits from unsuspecting renters... If john was a psychic, he sure didn’t expect to see his arrest coming for fraud." The article also said that "A number of online reviews claim the medium's clairvoyance comes from his use of PayPal - which gives him the not-so-miraculous ability to research people’s full names before doing a reading."[2] Psychic Review Online, a website generally friendly to those claiming to possess paranormal powers, reported on John's lawbreaking and called him a "self-proclaimed psychic" and a "scamming psychic".[13]
In March 2016, Denis Slattery of New York Daily News reported that in 2015, The News uncovered John's "sordid past as a Craigslist scammer". John was arrested in 2009 for posting fake apartment ads on Craigslist and stealing security deposits from unsuspecting renters. The article reported that John's cellphone number appeared on various websites where dozens of people across several states claimed he pulled his security-deposit scam on them. Slattery said that John dropped his last name and "re-branded himself as a medium after pleading guilty to theft and computer fraud." Slattery also referred to John as a "mountebank", a "crooked clairvoyant" and called John a "celebrity psychic with a shady history of fraud [who] is reliving his past life as a scam artist."
The March 2016 article also reported that John was being sued by a California-based public relations firm, ZTPR, because he hadn't paid their bill. John had hired ZTPR to repair his public relations image after the Daily News uncovered and reported on his fraud conviction. According to court papers, ZTPR "completed all the services of helping him build and exaggerate in the press his public profile as a believable psychic medium". Slattery reported that "The charlatan told The News he's worked out a settlement with ZTPR, but... ZTPR president Zack Teperman said the matter was still being reviewed by the company's lawyers." John told The News that "It was basically something I did out of necessity... I've turned my life around since then."[4]
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