Sextuplets 'Parents' Jailed

(CBS/AP)  A couple who falsely claimed to be the parents of critically ill sextuplets were charged Friday with stealing the cash and other gifts for the newborns.

Kris and Sarah Everson, of Grain Valley, had collected cash and other gifts donated for the six babies the couple claimed were born in March. They later admitted both to police and reporters that they had lied.

"I have never dealt with anything like this," said Police Chief Aaron Ambrose. "The level of fraud like this involving people, I have not."

Gary Bradley, the city administrator, said charges against the Eversons were forthcoming. Prosecutors had not yet determined how much the couple profited from the scam or whether they would qualify for charges beyond the municipal level.

The Eversons were charged with one count each of stealing by deceit, a felony. A judge entered not guilty pleas for them in court Friday and they were being held on $4,999 bond each. The Eversons did not yet have attorneys.

Police Chief Aaron Ambrose said the couple had taken in about $4,000 through a bank fund, a post office box established to receive mailed gifts and an online PayPal account that allowed visitors to the couple's Web site to give money. The Web site has since shut down.

The couple had claimed they kept the births quiet because a family dispute meant their lives and the lives of their babies were threatened. But those the Eversons had turned to for help persuaded them to go to the media, and on Monday, their story was on the front page of The Examiner in Independence, leading to the eventual unraveling of their tale.

The paper says it's reviewing its verification practices.

On Thursday, Sarah Everson told The Associated Press that she had lied about her pregnancy even to her husband. She said he believed for months that she was pregnant, and police said she told them she went so far as to gain 40 pounds to further the ruse. The couple apologized this week, saying they were sorry for everything they did. They said they did it "out of financial reasons."