Alleged witchcraft practitioner pleads guilty to fraud
Posted April 4, 2017 5:37 pm.
Last Updated April 4, 2017 7:43 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A man charged with practicing witchcraft pleaded guilty to one count of fraud in a Toronto court on Tuesday.
While the rare witchcraft charge was dropped with the plea, he was also facing charges for extortion and fraud over $5000 and spent seven days in pretrial custody.
Murali Muthyalu, 37, allegedly defrauded a man to the tune of $100,000 to heal his sick daughter by removing evil spirits from her.
He has been ordered to pay the victim, Safet Malo, $67,100 by April 5.
Police say Malo, 44, contacted the suspect after seeing an advertisement for the Sri Gayatri Astrological Center on Islington Avenue.
Muthyalu, who also goes by the alias Master Raghav, is a visitor from India. He has been given permission to leave Canada but cannot re-enter the country for a period of three years.
