Maricopa County Assessor Paul Petersen has been indicted in an int'l adoption fraud scheme that involves human smuggling, sale of children and communications fraud.

The Arizona Attorney General’s office did not provide additional details, but said it will hold a news conference Wednesday . A release from the Utah Attorney General's Office says Petersen was arrested in California . The Utah AG said it is charging Petersen with human smuggling, sale of a child and communications fraud.

According to Arizona court documents, Petersen—an adoption lawyer licensed in Utah and Arizona—and Lynwood Jennet helped pregnant women travel from the Republic of the Marshall Islands in the central Pacific Ocean to Az.to give up their children for adoption.

The court documents say the women returned directly to the Marshall Islands in several instances.

This arrangement violates an agreement called the Compact of Free Ass. between the U.S. and the Republic of the Marshall Islands, which bars Marshallese citizens from entering the U.S. if their travel is for the purpose of adoption. Petersen and Jennet are also accused of falsely claiming some of the pregnant women were residents of Az to get medical services provided by the Az Health Care Cost Containment System.The Utah Attorney General's Office said Petersen also transported more than 40 pregnant Marshallese women into Utah over the last three years.This arrangement also violates saidd agreement. The treaty provision on child adoptions was enacted to prevent unregulated int'l adoptions where the biological mothers' cultural misunderstandings might be exploited. For example, a study showed many women from the Marshall Islands allowed their children to be adopted by U.S. citizens thinking their children would benefit from better education and return to them as adults.

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The Utah Attorney General's Office said that the case was first uncovered when concerned hospital workers called the human trafficking tip line.

Petersen and Jennet are also accused of falsely claiming some of the pregnant women were residents of Arizona to get medical services provided by the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System.

Arizona court documents say he's been running the adoption scheme since 2015. Petersen faces charges of conspiracy, fraud, theft and forgery in Arizona.

The website for Petersen's law office says it specializes in private adoption, which "occurs without the direct involvement of a 3rd party—such as an adoption agency or a state agency." The website also says Petersen has contacts in Arizona, Arkansas and Utah.

The website says it would cost $30k to $40k to adopt a child through Petersen's firm.

The person who contacted the trooper said he was referred to Petersen by a third party regarding adopting a child. He told DPS, according to court documents, the Peterson practices he learned about during their conversation were "suspicious."

According to court documents, DPS detectives learned Petersen has been involved in adoption Marshallese babies since at least 2005. Between Nov. 30, 2015, and May 30, 2019, detectives were able to identify 28 women from the Marshall Islands who gave birth in the Phoenix area and gave their child up for adoptions. One of those women gave birth twice.

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An agreement called the Compact of Free Association between the U.S. and the Republic of the Marshall Islands bars Marshallese citizens from entering the U.S. if their travel is for the purpose of adoption.

DPS Director Col. Frank Milstead said eight Marshallese women, who are believed to be pregnant, were found in a Mesa home where a search warrant was served Tuesday night. Several search warrants were carried out in the Valley around the time of Petersen's arrest.

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said Wednesday the families that adopted the children are not under investigation.

Pattern of adoption

According to court documents, Petersen would find and match birth mothers and adoptive families using people who were on his payroll in the Marshall Islands and the United States.

Court documents show Petersen would charge families around $35k per adoption.

Petersen, according to the documents, would say the fees would cover medical costs, but of the 28 identified women who gave birth in Arizona, all had their delivery cost covered by the state's Medicaid agency.

Per to court documents, investigators with the state's Medicaid agency (AHCCCS) have estimated the loss to the state to be more than $800,000 for the 28 identified birth mothers.

The documents revealed Petersen sent money to the Marshall Islands for the pregnant women to purchase passports and he would also pay for the women to fly to Phoenix and stay for the duration of their pregnancy.

According to the court documents, the pregnant women were housed in a home owned by Petersen and are assisted with applying for AHCCCS benefits when they are ready to give birth. The women are then often flown back to the Marshall Islands or taken to another state, most commonly Arkansas, after giving birth.

The women had similar flight patterns, each woman would fly to Arizona and give birth, within days in some cases. The documents also showed in some cases the women would stay as long as six months in Arizona and leave shortly after they delivered the child.They were paid

According to the court documents, investigators believe the women participated because they were paid $1k per month while they are pregnant in the US. Their food and travel were also covered.

Some birth mothers were even promised up to $10k to put their unborn baby up for adoption by Petersen and his associates.

According to the documents, Petersen employed Marshallese women in Arizona, Utah, and Arkansas who would translate, transport, and care for the birth mothers along with helping them apply for benefits and notarize legal documents. Lynwood Jennet, who was also arrested in connection to the case, is the "point of contact for all the birth mothers" and the people in the Marshall Islands finding expecting mothers interested in coming to the US to give their child up for adoption. She would relay information to Petersen the court documents showed.

According to the documents, Jennet would author affidavits saying the women lived with her to the Az Dept of Economic Security as a way to establish their residency for benefits.

https://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/Maricopa-County-assessor-indicted-on-adoption-14502810.php

https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/valley/maricopa-county-assessor-indicted-in-adoption-fraud-scheme/75-6a3c5218-2f95-4baa-a0ea-4b6039f033bb

https://www.abc4.com/news/national/assessor-of-biggest-arizona-county-indicted-on-fraud-charges/