The Psychic Readers Network is said to have coined the title "Miss Cleo" and sent spam e-mails, which stated, "[Miss Cleo has] been authorized to issue you a Special Tarot Reading!... it is vital that you call immediately!"[5] Charges of deceptive advertising and of fraud on the part of the Psychic Readers Network began to surface around this time. One such case was described in a CourtTV report investigating Miss Cleo and the Psychic Readers Network. In late 1999, Stephen Schwartz was in a "state of depression" and called Miss Cleo looking for answers to his personal problems. After speaking to the "psychic" who "commented on his personality and character, but offered little else in the way of a psychic reading", Schwartz ended the call. Later, Schwartz was billed $300 for the call, but sued and ultimately won $200.[6] CourtTV and other sources also reported that the "psychics" who gave readings over the phone were in fact reading from a script (which was, in part, taken from a book on tarot cards).[7]
In 1999, the first lawsuits were filed against Harris and her promoters concerning the psychic network's business practices.[5] In 2001, Access Resource Services d/b/a Psychic Readers Network was sued in various lawsuits brought by (among others) Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Florida, and the Federal Communications Commission.[8] Plaintiffs charged that the company's owners and Harris' promoters, Steven Feder and Peter Stotz, had made it appear that Miss Cleo owned and operated the Psychic Readers Network. Ms. Harris herself was sued by the State of Florida.