Internet Twins Mom Faces Jail

The mother of twins placed for adoption twice over the Internet could face jail time after pleading guilty Wednesday in a federal fraud case.

Tranda Wecker, 29, of St. Louis, had earlier pleaded innocent. She changed her plea Wednesday, admitting lying to get rent subsidies, food stamps and unemployment benefits.

Wecker could face up to a year in jail. Sentencing will be Jan. 18.

Last year, a California couple, Richard and Vickie Allen, said they paid an Internet broker $6,000 to adopt the twins, who are now 16 months old. Then, they said Wecker took them for a visit and never returned.

The twins, Kiara and Keyara, were subsequently adopted by a Welsh couple, Judith and Alan Kilshaw, who said they paid the same broker $12,000. The twins are now in state care in Missouri while a judge decides custody. Wecker and her estranged husband, Aaron, are in the process of getting a divorce, but both are seeking custody.

Tranda Wecker was indicted in August on nine felony counts of filing false statements to obtain government benefits and one count of mail fraud.

According to the indictment, Wecker gave false statements to the Northeast Community Action Corporation and the St. Louis Housing Authority between September 1997 and August 2000. Both agencies administer low-income rental subsidies for the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The indictment also said Wecker applied for unemployment benefits in September 1999 while she was working for Wal-Mart Associates and three other employers. She also is charged with making false statements for food stamps and other aid between January 2000 and January 2001.

There is no apparent connection between the fraud case and the adoption dispute.

St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Steven Ohmer has said the investigation phase of the custody dispute was taking longer than he expected. It is up to Ohmer to decide if either parent should get custody, if a custody arrangement can be worked out, or if the children should remain in foster care.

After the adoption was publicized, a court ordered the twins placed in foster care in Wales pending a decision on custody. The Kilshaws' adoption was voided by an Arkansas court because neither they nor Tranda Wecker had established residency there.

The Kilshaws gave up their custody fight in Britain earlier this year and a judge there ordered the twins sent back to St. Louis in April.

By Joe Stange
© MMI The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed