'She’s a vulture preying on the most vulnerable': Long Island Medium Theresa Caputo is branded a ‘fake’ by private investigator
- Ms Caputo claims she can speak with the dead
- Ron Tebo accuses her of 'cold reading' and pre-investigating audience members
- The reality TV medium has defended herself, claiming 'negative people need drama'
Theresa Caputo, star of TLC's Long Island Medium, has been forced to defend herself following accusations that she is a hoax.
The 46-year-old big-haired TV personality claims to possess the 'gift' of being able to speak with the dead.
However professional myth de-bunker Ron Tebo, who investigated Ms Caputo for over a year, told Radar Online that she is nothing more than ‘a vulture preying on the most vulnerable.’
![Hoax? Theresa Caputo (pictured), star of TLC's Long Island Medium, is accused of pre-interviewing her audience members in order to glean useful background information on them, as well as 'cold reading', rather than actually being psychic](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/06/09/article-0-1E9DAEDA00000578-311_634x544.jpg)
Hoax? Theresa Caputo (pictured), star of TLC's Long Island Medium, is accused of pre-interviewing her audience members in order to glean useful background information on them, as well as 'cold reading', rather than actually being psychic
Mr Tebo has accused Ms Caputo of using a number of dirty tactics for her show, including investigating and even pre-interviewing her audience members prior to her live readings, in order to glean information she can later claim 'came to her from the other side', as well as employing the methods of 'cold reading'.
After his accusations were revealed last week, Ms Caputo, also a New York-based wife and mother-of-two, took to her Facebook page to post the quote: 'Negative people need drama like it was oxygen. Stay positive… and take their breath away.'
And following her Saturday evening show in Sacramento, California, Ms Caputo proudly re-tweeted one audience member's gushing review of her 'readings', which stated: 'She truly is the real deal, and a beautiful soul... She truly has a beautiful gift.'
![Claims: Ms Caputo (pictured earlier this year) has shrugged off claims that she is a fake, posting a quote to her Facebook page that reads 'Negative people need drama like it was oxygen'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/06/09/article-2653374-1E9DAED600000578-792_634x524.jpg)
Claims: Ms Caputo (pictured earlier this year) has shrugged off claims that she is a fake, posting a quote to her Facebook page that reads 'Negative people need drama like it was oxygen'
![Gotcha: Professional myth de-bunker Ron Tebo (pictured), has been investigating Ms Caputo for over a year](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/06/10/article-2653374-1E9E35BF00000578-586_634x607.jpg)
Gotcha: Professional myth de-bunker Ron Tebo (pictured), has been investigating Ms Caputo for over a year
Cold reading, of which Ms Caputo is being accused, is a set of techniques which have long been employed by psychics and mediums.
According to Austin Kline, author of What Is Cold Reading? Skeptical Perspectives: 'Cold readers commonly employ high probability guesses about the subject, quickly picking up on signals... as to whether their guesses are in the right direction or not, and then emphasizing and reinforcing any chance connections the subjects acknowledge, while quickly moving on from missed guesses.'
'She was really grasping at straws and did a lot of fishing'
Indeed, one audience member at Ms Caputo's April 5 show in Hershey, Pennsylvania, lodged this complaint with Ticketmaster.com: 'She seemed off and almost every reading was like pulling teeth to match up info.
She was really grasping at straws and did a lot of ‘fishing'. For the most part, readings were forced and uninspired.'
![Roaring success: Ms Caputo is said to be worth over a million dollars, has run six seasons of her Long Island Medium show to date, and has an upcoming book entitled, 'You can't make this stuff up'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/06/09/article-2653374-1E9DAEDE00000578-578_634x627.jpg)
Roaring success: Ms Caputo is said to be worth over a million dollars, has run six seasons of her Long Island Medium show to date, and has an upcoming book entitled, 'You can't make this stuff up'
One video on Mr Tebo's website is from an Anderson Cooper appearance, in which Ms Caputo claims an audience member is wearing 'his wife's wedding ring', when in fact it is his mother's. She also asks about his wife's non-existent 'leg problems', and is proved wrong again.
As for readings which appear to be more accurate right off the bat, Mr Tebo has this: 'When you purchase a ticket [to Ms Caputo's show], you provide your full name, address and phone number to the vender.
'The vender can share this information with her staff, and then they can investigate the individual audience members. It seems she focuses on the front rows.'
'My young daughter died this summer and I needed to believe in something. After tonight, I am no longer a believer'
And sure enough, according to the website, another audience member from a North Carolina show in October reported to Ticketmaster that the arena held three levels of seating and around 2,500 guests. Allegedly, the medium spent the entire show with only the first floor.
'I was a Theresa Caputo believer and watched every one of her shows', the former fan attests. 'My young daughter died this summer and I needed to believe in something. After tonight, I am no longer a believer... [most of the audience members] left defeated and deflated.'
Ms Caputo, who is said to be worth over a million dollars, has run six seasons of her Long Island Medium show to date, and has an upcoming book entitled: 'You Can't Make This Stuff Up.'
She has four west coast cities lined up for new shows this week.
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