Athens Couple Thwarts Adoption Scammer

Athens Couple Thwarts Adoption Scammer
Submitted by WDEF on November 6, 2006 - 3:22pm. News | Consumer News | McMinn County News

This week. The legal system tries to deal with a crime that's not even on the books yet.

A Nashville woman was indicted for identity theft.

Prosecutors say she mislead four couples desperately trying to adopt.

They paid large sums of money for a baby they never got.

One of those couples lives in Athens.

Here are the details of what happened to them.

• They went to the internet to find a woman willing to give up her baby for adoption.

• They befriended a Nashville woman. After conferring with lawyers.

• But when the baby was due. The mother disappeared. And the couple found there was no baby.

News 12's Louis Lee has more of their story.



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Lori and Chris Coleman sit in their Athens home watching TV. But the screen displays a terrible memory for them.

It's a network news magazine story about how a Nashville woman duped them by claiming to have a baby for adoption.

That's when they met "christy" on adoption match-making website.

Lori Coleman, Trying to Adopt "The first time I met her, you know, she knew we wanted to adopt again. But I never put any pressure at all on her. In fact, she told me when I left, the first time after meeting her, that she wanted Chris and I to have the baby."

During the pregnancy, "Christy" would call or email and ask for money for living expenses, which the Coleman's gladly provided.

But as the due date for the baby drew near, things started to fall apart and Lori became suspicious.

"Christy" stopped returning phone calls and emails.

After some checking, the Coleman found several other families also waiting for Christy's baby.

Lori Coleman, Trying to Adopt "well, we have reason to believe there was never a baby. She has pulled this with other couples at different points in time. Early 2005, 2003, 2004. And she looked exactly the same then as she does now."

After even more investigations, the Coleman's found out practically everything "Christy" told them about herself was a lie. Even her name.

Lori Coleman, Trying to Adopt "These women are not afraid to go through agencies, they're not afraid to go through adoption facilitators, or attorneys. They know what they're doing."

And what they're doing isn't even illegal ... Technically.

Chris Coleman, a former police officer says that needs to change.

Chris Coleman, Trying to Adopt "until some laws are changed, until our legislatures enact new laws toward this type of scam. Law enforcement has to understand that they're going to have to be more creative. "

In Athens, Louis Lee, News 12.



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Prosecutors face a challenge in building a case against Amy Cumbee.

State law allows any mother to back out of an adoption deal up to three days after the babies birth.

If they can prove she was never pregnant. They may be able to build a fraud case.


The Coleman's hope to get a happy ending this fall.

They have another adoption set up for a baby due in September.