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Thomas John Flanagan, known professionally as Thomas John, is a former Chicago drag queen, 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.

Drag queen career

Prior to becoming a medium, John performing in drag around Chicago under the name Lady Vera Parker.

Mediumship career

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. Despite the scientific skeptic consensus that mediumship is a con, John has convinced some mass media reporters that he has paranormal powers:

• Vogue magazine published an article titled "How a Celebrity Psychic Turned One Proud Skeptic Into a Believer"
• The Hollywood Reporter asked John "When did you first realize you had a gift?"
• SF Weekly asked John "A lot of us are curious about the afterlife. What can you tell us about it?"
• WJBK said "Every time psychic medium Thomas John is on The Nine, he blows us away and makes everyone cry."
• WPIX said "Thomas John has made a career blowing minds with his gift for communicating with those who have passed. Honing in on his unique skill at an early age, the celebrity medium has become the go-to psychic with a track record that has even stunned skeptics."

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.

Felony fraud conviction and challenges to veracity

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." 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".

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 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."

Bibliography

• Never Argue with a Dead Person: True and Unbelievable Stories from the Other Side

See also

• Ann O'Delia Diss Debar ("One of the most extraordinary fake mediums... the world has ever known" -Houdini)
• Charlatan
• Confidence trick
• Flim-Flam! (Psychics, ESP, Unicorns and other Delusions)
• Fortune telling fraud
• Houdini's debunking of psychics and mediums
• Televangelist Peter Popoff exposed by James Randi
• Psychic Blues: Confessions of a Conflicted Medium
• Rose Mackenberg (Historic investigator of psychic mediums)

References

1. ^ Shaff, Jay (6 July 2009). "Lady Vera Parker arrested and jailed". chicago.gopride.com. Go Pride. Archived from the original on 2 July 2018. Retrieved 2 July 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)}
2. ^ "Famous psychic, John Thomas,scandal that rocked the media world and Paranormal world". Paranormal Herald Magazine. 11 September 2015. Archived from the original on 30 June 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
3. ^ Slattery, Denis (25 July 2015). "'Manhattan Medium' Thomas John has celeb clientele — and shady past as scammer and drag queen". NYdailynews.com. NY Daily News. Archived from the original on 29 June 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
4. ^ Slattery, Denis (23 March 2016). "Manhattan psychic who ran Craigslist scam sued for owing money to PR firm hired to fix his image". nydailynews.com. NY Daily News. Archived from the original on 29 June 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
5. ^ ANDERSON, KRISTIN (15 October 2016). "How a Celebrity Psychic Turned One Proud Skeptic Into a Believer". Vogue.com. Vogue. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
6. Propatier, Stephen. "Susan Gerbic: Vampire Slayer". Skeptoid.com. Skeptoid Media. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
7. Swiss, Jamy Ian. "Jamy Ian Swiss - In Pursuit of Psychics: For Good Reason". Youtube.com. James Randi Foundation. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
8. Pevos, Edward (16 November 2017). "We can't explain our encounter with psychic medium Thomas John: See for yourself". Mlive.com. Michigan Live. Archived from the original on 30 June 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
9. ^ Gardner, Chris (22 June 2018). "'Seatbelt Psychic' Thomas John on New Lifetime Show: "Skeptics are Definitely Welcome"". hollywoodreporter.com. Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 30 June 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
10. Quick, Quentin (29 June 2018). "Celebrity Medium Thomas John Breaks on Through (To the Other Side)". SFweekly.com. SF Weekly. Archived from the original on 29 June 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
11. "Psychic medium Thomas John returns for show in West Bloomfield April 12". Fox2detroit.com. Fox News. 12 April 2018. Archived from the original on 30 June 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
12. ^ RAMOS, ANDREW (28 June 2018). "Renowned medium Thomas John spooks ride-share passengers in 'Seatbelt Psychic'". pix11.com/. PIX 11. Retrieved 29 June 2018. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= requires |archive-url= (help)
13. "Celebrity Psychic Thomas John Being Sued For Non Payment By PR Firm Who Fixed His Image After His Craigslist Scam Emerged". Psychicreviewonline.com. Psychic Review Online. 30 March 2016. Archived from the original on 30 June 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
14. John, Thomas (25 February 2015). Never Argue with a Dead Person: True and Unbelievable Stories from the Other Side. Hampton Roads Publishing. ISBN 978-1571747242. Retrieved 2 July 2018. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)}

• 1984 births
• Living people