Illegal Adoption Scheme

Thread: Yesterday, Arizona attorney Paul Petersen, who is also the elected Republican assessor of Maricopa County, was federally indicted for his involvement in a human trafficking adoption scheme. His involvement dates back years and spans three states.https://t.co/OK8rXGVa4b

— Kathryn Joyce (@kathrynajoyce) October 10, 2019

Here and here.

A public official in Arizona has been arrested in connection with charges that he ran a multimillion-dollar scheme in which he smuggled pregnant women from the Marshall Islands to profit from their newborn babies. Authorities say Maricopa County Assessor Paul Petersen's fraudulent adoption enterprise left a trail of forged documents and violated U.S. and international laws.

Petersen operates an adoption law firm. For years, he has connected American families seeking to adopt with women from the Marshall Islands — but state and federal prosecutors say Petersen falsified documents and lied about the mothers' residency so he could enrich himself.

Federal indictment here.

We posted previous coverage of the Marshallese adoption schemes from the Hololulu Civil Beat.

Adoption Attorney Charged in Illegal Adoption Scheme Involving Marshall Island Babies by Kate Fort