'Fake guru' love spells

A bogus faith healer preyed on sick and desperate people in Sandwell, telling them he could work miracles on their love lives and cure their illnesses, a court was told.

Niem Mohammed said he could help childless couples conceive, fix any marriage problems and improve people's working lives, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard this afternoon.

The jury was told how Mohammed claimed to have "divine spiritual powers" and be from a sacred part of India. The 41-year-old was born and raised in Liverpool.

Mr Barry Berlin, prosecuting, claimed he was a conman and a swindler who had pocketed tens of thousands of pounds from vulnerable people.

The jury was told how one childless couple handed over £9,650 after Mohammed guaranteed they would fall pregnant with his help.

"He said he was a faith healer, a spiritual healer," Mr Berlin said.

"Somebody who could work miracles, a holy man. These people were desperate and they believed in him.

"This case is not about faith healing but a swindler who uses the cloak of faith healing to fulfil his greed. Once they have started paying, he milks the situation and asks for more and more."

Mr Berlin added Mohammed threatened to send an invisible ghost to the homes of people who would not pay up.Mohammed, of Altrincham Road, Wilmslow, Cheshire, denies 15 charges of fraud, blackmail, obtaining property by deception and procuring the execution of valuable security by deception.

The court heard how Mohammed, who used an alias and a fake picture of a wise spiritual elder on his website, said he could cure any problem through prayers and spells in just a week.

Mr Berlin said demands for payment started at £50 and would escalate further with Mohammed pocketing all the cash for his own gain.

The jury was told the charges spanned from August 2005 to January 2008.

The trial continues.