User:Waninge/wip

Maria Duval is a pseudonym of Carolina Maria Gambia (Milan, 1938). She was the owner of Astroforce until it was sold in 1997 to Health Tips Ltd in Hongkong (now Harmonie Ltd). Then she became President of the Institute for Parapsychological Research in Callas, a small town near Nice.

Astroforce has since then been acting as Maria Duval, a psychic who uses her telepathic gifts to help people solve their problems or fulfill their wishes. The company places advertisements in newspapers or magazines. People who reply will receive several letters, each letter offering some sort of help in return for money. Astroforce also sells its mailing list to direct marketing companies.

Complaints
Complaints about the letters of Astroforce were upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority in the UK in december 1999. Complaints about its advertisements were upheld in the UK in march 2000. In 2005 Astroforce stopped its New Zealand advertising after a complaint by the Consumers' Institute of New Zealand.