Adoption website is a scam, say Ind. police
(CBS/WBBM) GARY, Ind. - Indiana State Police say that an adoption website that offered the ultimate dream for couples unable to conceive, delivered the ultimate betrayal when the woman who runs the site took their money and then cut off all communication.
The Tinkerbell Adoption Consultants website lists details on pregnant women with their age, race and other information. It's part of what officials say attracts unsuspecting victims to the site and gives them false hope, accoriding to CBS affiliate WBBM.
Sheila Davis, of Heaven Sent Adoption Services in Michigan, told WBBM that she's known about the woman behind the site since 2008. She has talked with families who say they've tried the site, which police believe has been running for the past year.
The victims say they paid thousands of dollars and received nothing in return.
"She hooks them with 'this mom has chosen you' and 'you know you're gonna have a baby' and 'we need to get the paperwork and you need to send me the $5,000,'" Davis told WBBM. "Within a week of getting the money, even days with a couple of them, communication drops off."
"She told one of them that the baby had died," Davis said. "I mean just horrible things. And these families have to rebuild after that."
Police this week have served a search warrant at the home of the woman allegedly behind the site.
Indiana State Police Detective Jeffrey Matson says there could be countless victims from across the country. He hopes more states will launch their own investigations into the cases.
"Through investigations we determined that there were couples that paid more of a fee when they were identified with a birth mother," Matson told the station.
Police say the woman behind the Tinkerbell Adoptions Consultants website does not hold a license in Indiana.
Families who want to adopt are urged to check to make sure they have a business license in the state in which they're matching families.
There is also a website that serves as a clearinghouse for scams: adoptionscams.net.