A New York man claims a psychic he met online who was supposed to tell his fortune instead scammed him of $250,000 amid promises of creating an anti-negativity gold statue.

In a lawsuit filed today in Superior Court in Morristown, Charles Silveira, 38, of Seaford, Long Island, names as defendant Ava T. Miller, 32, a psychic he met online and who lives in Mendham, Morris County.

The ruse began in July 2007 and lasted through March 2008. Silveira allegedly paid vast sums of cash to Miller, and even bought her a home in Mendham, the lawsuit states.

In one instance, Miller claimed she needed $170,000 from Silveira to buy gold so she could make a gold statue for him "to ward off negativity," the lawsuit states.

Asked why he would continue plunking down large sums of cash, Silveira's attorney, Michael Mark of Union, said in telephone interview, "I suspect he was one of those persons who thought he could secure some psychic assistance. She gave him positive feedback for him to believe in her representations of what she was saying."

Miller could not be reached for comment.

Silveira met Miller through the website Keen.com, at which she was known as "Pamela 27," and paid to have telephone calls with her, the lawsuit states. In September 2007, Miller told Silveira that his case was "a major one," and she needed to remove herself from keen.com -- her only source of income -- to concentrate solely on him, the lawsuit alleges.

The operators of keen.com are not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

Silveira gave Miller thousands of dollars over a period of several months, funds she allegedly used for a trip to Florida, which she claimed was necessary to perform specific psychic rituals, as well as to buy gold for a statue "to ward off the negativity in his life," the lawsuit claims.

Some of the payments were made via transactions with Miller's daughter at the Short Hills Mall, according to the lawsuit.

In all, Silveira paid $247,850 and never received the statue, according to the lawsuit.

Silveira also bought more than $5,000 in Chanel purses for Miller as a gift for her sacrifice of giving up the keen.com work, according to the lawsuit.

In March 2008, Miller convinced Silveira to buy her a home in Mendham, the lawsuit states. Miller allegedly claimed "she loved him and wanted to be with him, and that they would live together" there, according to the lawsuit.

Miller moved into the Maple Avenue home on April 2008 and still lives there, the lawsuit states. Silveira, who is single, remains in New York, Mark said. Mark declined to divulge Silveira's occupation.

The lawsuit seeks a judgment of $247,850 from Miller, unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, a court order removing Miller and her daughter from the home and an order barring Miller from disposing, selling or transferring any of Silveira's assets.