Texas Woman Pleads Guilty to Adoption Fraud

When you go to an adoption agency, it’s in the hopes of finding a child to complete your family. Many couples wait years and spend thousands of dollars to adoption agencies. Their only hope is to find a child in need of a loving home. International adoptions are sometimes the best option for a lot of couples. This is especially true for LGBT couples. Often times, domestic adoption agencies find ways to discriminate against LGBT couples when it comes to approving applications and locating children. Texas woman pleads guilty to adoption fraud.

At the end of August, a woman from Mansfield, Texas plead guilty to several charges, including conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, wire fraud and bank fraud. Her and her coworkers worked for an adoption agency whose home base was in Ohio.

What they did was charge their clients exorbitant fees to bribe officials in Uganda. These bribes were used to make sure that the officials assigned international adoption cases to adoption-friendly judges.

Robin Longoria, a 38-year old woman from Texas, plead guilty to the charges last month in front of a federal judge in Ohio. The charges were brought there, in federal court, because that is where the international adoption agency was located.

The scary thing about this case is that it reveals just how corrupt adoption agencies can be. When you and your partner go to an adoption agency, you don’t expect to be charged for bribes. Nor do you expect your adoption counselor to falsify visa documents for your adopted child.

The fallout of this case is yet to be realized. Longoria is still waiting to be sentenced. The judges said they appreciated that she admitted what she had done. Hopefully, this will prevent other couples and families from being defrauded through international adoptions.

For assistance, you can contact our lawyers today!