Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
"Psychic" Accused of Conning Author Out of Millions
By
Jaya Saxena
Published Apr 14, 2010
Modified Apr 14, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jaya Saxena
Published Apr 14, 2010
Modified Apr 14, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Adam Robinson, author of "What Smart Students Know" and co-founder of the Princeton Review, is suing his allegedly psychic ex-girlfriend for conning him out of millions of dollars. In papers filed with the Manhattan Supreme Court yesterday, Robinson said he financially supported psychic Laura Day and wrote most of her books. But Robinson allegedly "had a psychological infirmity in handling his personal finances. Day capitalized on this weakness in order to profit personally, and persuaded Robinson to deliver to her signatory power over Robinson's bank accounts," according to the suit.
Day works as a self-help author and a psychic to the stars, working for such clients as Jennifer Aniston, Sarah Ferguson and Nicole Kidman, and according to her Wikipedia page, she prefers to call herself "intuitive" rather than "psychic." But she allegedly wasn't intuitive enough to write her own books, and Robinson helped her "virtually unusable" raw material into a book proposal and eventually numerous book deals.
The suit says that the "Practical Intuition" proposal landed Day a $250,000 advance, and eventually the book was a huge success. Robinson claims he got a $50,000 "token thank you" for his work, but Day soon began pressing him for half of his Princeton Review royalties, claiming she was broke. Day said the extra money was for her son, but she took for herself. Because of Day's "calculated plan," Robinson was unable to pay his living expenses and the $10,000 he owed the IRS. On her website, Day lists testimonials to her intuition from numerous fans, including Brad Pitt, who says, "I believe in the gut and I believe in Laura Day."
Tagged
ADAM ROBINSON
LAURA DAY
Manhattan Supreme Court
PRINCETON REVIEW
psychic
Jaya Saxena
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Upper East Side braces for affordable housing fast track, and backlash from residents
A new land-use approval process could make it easier for developers to build larger apartment complexes in one of the city’s wealthiest, most densely populated neighborhoods.
By
David Brand
Published Sep 29, 2026 at 6:30 a.m. ET
Plan to modernize NYC's diesel-spewing produce market falls apart under Mamdani
Bronx officials are scrambling to try to salvage a transformative project worth $650 million.
By
Elizabeth Kim
News
Plan to modernize NYC's diesel-spewing produce market falls apart under Mamdani
Bronx officials are scrambling to try to salvage a transformative project worth $650 million.
By
Elizabeth Kim
Central Park birders, others remember 63-year-old woman killed in park
By
Charles Lane
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
By
Liam Quigley
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
By
Arya Sundaram
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .