CA - Theresa Erickson, sentenced for baby-selling ring, 2011

[Reader]

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Tricia Griffith
Manager Websleuths.com

 

[BrownRice]

That's a bizarre case. I've been following it since it came up (I'm originally from SD). The only thing that makes sense is greed. She had a very successful, unique law practice. She was not a shady, fly by night attorney. Seems like she got off pretty easy though.

 

[Rayemonde]

February 2012:

A respected North County lawyer will serve five months in prison for her role in an international baby-selling operation...

Chambers, who helped recruit the surrogates, was described by a victim as "a greedy con artist who shopped babies to the highest bidder."

Another member of the international baby-selling ring, Maryland attorney Hilary Neiman is already serving a year prison sentence.

Prosecutors say between 2005 and March 2011, the women sold at least 12 babies.

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Baby-Selling-Ring-Sentence-Theresa-Erickson--140336143.html

 

[Rayemonde]

Once the women reached their second trimester, the attorneys then sold the unborn baby to unsuspecting parent claiming a prior surrogacy agreement had fallen through.
Under California law, surrogates must enter the agreement before the embryonic transfer.

Federal prosecutors said Erickson worked with Carla Chambers of Las Vegas, Nevada and Hilary Neiman of Maryland to create an “inventory of unborn babies.”
The women then submitted court documents claiming the surrogacies were legitimate.
After the papers were filed, Erickson would add the names of the parents who had purchased the child.

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Theresa-Erickson-Surrogacy-Abuse-Selling-Babies-140942313.html

 

[Rayemonde]

Theresa Erickson, 43, was sentenced to five months in prison, followed by nine more to be spent in home confinement. She was also fined $70,000. Her two partners in the scheme, Hilary Neiman, 32, a Maryland attorney, and Carla Chambers, 51, of Las Vegas, were given one year sentences...

Chambers and Neiman were tasked with recruiting women to act as surrogates. The surrogates would travel to Ukraine, where they were implanted with donated sperm and eggs.

American doctors are required to check for documentation of a surrogacy agreement before implanting any embryos. The standards are lax in Ukraine, so Erickson sent her recruits there to complete the process....

[Erickson] even filed fraudulent paperwork in court to back up her story.

Couples were charged between $100,000 and $150,000 for each baby. Surrogates who completed the pregnancy were paid between $38,000 and $40,000...

Erickson's baby-selling ring placed a dozen babies in homes. The babies will remain with those families.
.
Erickson has appeared on national television and wrote a book called "Assisted Reproduction: The Complete Guide to Having a Baby with the Help of a Third Party."

http://abcnews.go.com/US/san-diego-women-sentenced-baby-selling-case/story?id=15785854

 

[Brightchaser47]

That's a bizarre case. I've been following it since it came up (I'm originally from SD). The only thing that makes sense is greed. She had a very successful, unique law practice. She was not a shady, fly by night attorney. Seems like she got off pretty easy though.

Two San Diego Women Sentenced In Baby Selling Case

Maybe it was a sophisticated form of thrill-seeking for her. Filing fraudulent paperwork in court, sending surrogates abroad-- pretty brazen, imo. And, yes, she got off easy...