Hindu temple leader arrested

NORCROSS, Ga., Nov. 4 (UPI) -- The head of the Hindu Temple of Georgia has been charged with theft and practicing medicine without a license, said Gwinnett County Police.

Annamalai Annamalai, 43, of Norcross, Ga., is accused of charging $1,751 to a woman's credit card without her permission last July and of charging $14,000 to perform a spiritual service on a woman suffering from Crohn's disease, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Tuesday.

Annamalai has been under investigation since 2006, said Gwinnett County Police Cpl. David Schiralli. "It is a very long and complex case and it is still ongoing," Schiralli said Monday.

Neither Annamalai nor his lawyer, Jerry Froelich, could be reached for comment, the Journal-Constitution reported.

The temple's Web site calls Annamalai a "divine personality" and "great scholar, who is able to relieve problems from neck pains to all kinds of mental, material stress and conflicts in all walks of our life."