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29 March 2024

'Baby-selling ring' lawyer pleads guilty

Published
By Staff

A US lawyer has pleaded guilty for being part of a 'baby-selling ring'.

Theresa Erickson, who specialises in reproductive law, along with two others recruited women to travel to Ukraine to be implanted with embryos created from the sperm and egg of donors. They charged a dozen couples more than $100,000 to adopt babies born from surrogate pregnancies, reported 'aap'.

She is believed to have profited about $70,000 through the scheme,

Once the surrogate reached the second trimester of pregnancy, the defendants would falsely tell the surrogate pair that the couples who intended to adopt the babies backed out of the deal, according to prosecutors.

And the  new couple that agreed to adopt the baby would have to pay more than $100,000 in fees. Women carry babies to term were paid from $38,000 to $45,000, court documents said.

The surrogates were sent to Ukraine because American fertility doctors would ask for authenticated agreement documents.

The defendants are also charged with fraudulently obtaining more than
$20,000 in state insurance coverage for the surrogates.

Erickson, who faces up to five years in prison, will pay each of the 12 couples $10,000 in restitution and up to $250,000 in fines to the government. She will be sentenced in October.