At least she isn't scamming at the moment...

A woman who allegedly attempted an adoption scam while living in Kittanning was apprehended last week in Ohio after eluding authorities in two states.

Amy Slanina, 33, was reportedly mired in a similar scam when an investigation revealed her actual identity and previous offenses.

According to the Ashland Times-Gazette, Slanina was taken into custody at a home in Ashland, Ohio, and is being held in the county jail for a probation violation while local officials consider further charges.

Slanina, who had been on the lam for more than two months, has an extensive criminal history of lying about her identity and pretending to be pregnant and abused in an effort to defraud victims of money and services.

She already was wanted in Knox County, Ohio, for a parole violation stemming from a 2010 scam when she used a false name last December to gain shelter at Helping All Victims In Need (HAVIN) in Kittanning.

Claiming to be the battered wife of a Pittsburgh police officer, Slanina used a cell phone and computer at the facility to communicate with Richard and Rebecca Vest — a couple from Idaho who believed Slanina was pregnant and willing to let them adopt her baby.

Authorities at HAVIN became suspicious of Slanina’s story, and Kittanning police arrested the woman on Dec. 30 for diversion of services, theft by deception and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Although Slanina had convinced the Vests to travel to Kittanning, District Judge James Owen dismissed two counts of disorderly conduct the following month because there was no proof she had asked the couple for money or put them in danger.

In April, Slanina appeared before Judge James Panchik which was to result in her extradition to Ohio.

However, Armstrong authorities were unable to locate her in September when she was again set to stand trial in Armstrong County for theft of services against HAVIN.

The Associated Press reported that a court summons mailed to the Ohio Reformatory for Women — where Slanina was thought to be incarcerated — was returned to sender with the word “Released” written on it.

Armstrong County District Attorney Scott Andreassi could not be reached on Tuesday for comment on the recent arrest, nor on how Slanina was able to disappear from authorities.

She surfaced last month at a shelter in Ashland in the midst of a similar scam. Slanina reportedly had told staff there she was again pregnant and had been abused by a police officer in Columbus.

Story unravels

She was attempting to file a PFA order against the man when authorities soon discovered he doesn’t exist and Slanina’s story unraveled. She was arrested at a home in Green Township on Nov. 30.

Jo Ellen Bowman, executive director of HAVIN, said she’s relieved Slanina is finally behind bars.

“I was advised she was once again engaged in her false pregnancies and adoption scam,” said Bowman.

“It’s unconscionable that she continues to inflict emotional pain on victims who believe she is pregnant and that they believe they will have the privilege of adopting her nonexistent child. I’m grateful to law enforcement for working so diligently to hold Amy Slanina accountable.”

Bowman said Slanina will eventually be returned to Armstrong County to face charges

Adoption Bill brainstorm...

I re-read the bill that former Rep. Mark Maddox wrote a few years ago.  It got pushed back and to be honest, I'm glad it did.  I think Maddox meant well, but he's not schooled in adoption and doesn't quite understand what needs to happen to make it a safer adoption world, not just for prospective adoptive parents, but for expectant women considering adoption and birth mothers who have already placed their children.  It needs to be a safe world where those families are brought together for the love of a child. 

Because adoption plan perimeters vary from state to state, there needs to be one law making it the same. 

For example:

This is a bill proposing nationwide perimeters on adoption plans involving a pregnant woman considering adoption and the prospective adoptive parent(s)
Prospective adoptive parents shall be responsible for living expenses as deemed necessary by the expectant mother's attorney or adoption agency for a period of 4 months pre birth and a period of 1 month proceeding birth of the child.
Women who have placed a baby for adoption shall have 5 business days after signing papers to reclaim the baby.
 
If the rules are the same, it thwarts scammers who know they can keep the same story and find couples that live in different states to work with, whether pregnant or not, thus maximizing their financial gain.
 
As far as having no law in which to hold scammers accountable is a travesty.  It's fraudulent.  It's emotional distress. It's unimaginable there is not one single law making it a crime.
 
In Maddox's bill, he wanted pregnant women who had followed through with the adoption plan and accepted funds, be responsible for giving the money back if she decides to keep the baby.  This is just without a doubt, hands down what should absolutely not be in any law.  This is taking away that mother's right to chose!  She may have planned on placing the baby the entire time but held her baby in the end and couldn't go through with it no matter how badly she feels about hurting the prospective parents.  She probably felt guilty for taking the money while pregnant and would give it back if she could.  Unfortunately for the adoptive family, they have just lost their baby.  They are devastated and know that the thousands of money they have given for the birth mom's living expenses are gone and they have pushed back trying again because they are out of money and their hearts are broken.  At least if the law in each state capped living expenses at 4 months pre birth and 1 month post birth everyone would know what to expect.  Expectant mothers would be given the extra help they need with living expenses deemed necessary through her attorney, thus alleviating some of their stress.  Prospective adoptive parents will know they have that financial responsibility, but it won't be as much money lost if the adoption falls through.  Perhaps they can re cooperate quicker financially and begin to rebuild their dream.
 
As an adoptive mother I have lost money on scams, paid living expenses once for 10 months and then again for another 5.  That doesn't include additional expenses involved like travel, attorneys, agencies, social workers, etc.  The absolute hardest time for me was the waiting time until I knew my babies were mine.  Kennedy's birth mom went before a judge 2 days after birth and immediately upon signing (in which he was tough on her in a good way) her rights were terminated.  Kingston's birth mom had 10 business days.  In both cases my worst fear was them wanting to reclaim their birth children.  I knew they had every right and they deserve that right, but how would I ever be able to give them up? I know how important it is, however, for mothers to have that time to cope with their decision and make sure they can live with it.  Kingston's birth mom knew that because our adoption plan was in the wake of the scam, I was terrified.  I couldn't help it.  She told me once she wanted her attorney to draw up papers waiving her right to a waiting period.  I absolutely refused.  There was no way I as going to be a part of something she could have regretted the rest of her life, nor was I going to have something for her to throw back into my face as if I had pushed her to do it.  Not a chance. During this waiting period,  think of the child.  He's already endured birth and needs his mother.  He's been depending on his adoptive mother and the longer that happens the more they bond and the less time the birth mother has had during that time. Therefore, I think a 5 business day waiting time is logical for the baby, birth mom and adoptive family.
 
This is what I came up with for the second bill making adoption scam a felony:
 
Adoption - Creates fraud offenses and a civil cause of action

in certain circumstances involving women posing as expectant mothers considering adoption or expectant mothers with no intent on placing the unborn child or promising the child to more than one family and prospective adoptive parents or families.





Under this bill, it would be a Class E felony for a woman to
represent herself to a prospective adoptive parent or family as
either:


(1) Representing herself as being pregnant when she knows she is not and making an adoption plan and/or accepting  funds from the family during the alleged pregnancy; or
(2) Accepting funds from and/or making an adoption plan with more than one family  during her pregnancy




In addition to probation, incarceration, or criminal fines,this bill
requires the sentencing court to sentence an offender to pay full
restitution to the parent or family for all the funds paid to the
offender by the parent or family during the pregnancy or alleged pregnancy. Offenders will also be required to pay restitution to the parent or family for personal expenses incurred.


This bill also authorizes a cause of action for a parent or family to
bring suit against a woman for the full restitution of all the funds
the parent or family paid to her during her pregnancy, if:




(1) The woman represents herself to a prospective parent or family as being pregnant when she knows she is not and accepts funds from the alleged pregnancy or follows an adoption plan of action.
(2)Throughout the pregnancy or alleged pregnancy, she accepts money  from more than one couple previous to birth with the promise of adopting the child

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Are you freaking kidding me???

Armstrong baby scam suspect awaits judge's ruling

By Brigid Beatty, LEADER TIMES

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Last updated: 8:15 am

About the writer

Brigid Beatty is a Leader Times staff writer and can be reached at 724-543-1303 or via e-mail.



KITTANNING — A woman who was arrested last month on charges connected to an alleged baby scam is awaiting a district judge's decision following her preliminary trial Wednesday.

Amy Slanina, 32, was arrested Dec. 30 after she was discovered at the domestic violence shelter, HAVIN (Helping All Victims in Need), in Kittanning under a false name. HAVIN Director Jo Ellen Bowman said she called police after learning that Slanina was wanted on a parole violation in Ohio. Following her arrest at HAVIN, Slanina was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and confessed to police that she had snorted Klonopin. While staying at HAVIN, Slanina allegedly used her cell phone and a computer at the shelter to contact a couple from Idaho. Slanina, calling herself Amiee, allegedly texted and e-mailed Richard and Rebecca Vest and conned them into believing she was pregnant and ready to give up her baby for adoption.

Slanina was initially charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, theft by deception and theft of services. She waived her right to a preliminary hearing on those charges on Jan. 4.

She has since been charged with two counts of criminal use of a communication facility, which were later withdrawn, and two counts of disorderly conduct causing physically offensive conditions to the alleged victims.

Before yesterday's hearing began, Assistant District Attorney Cindy Calarie said, that there is currently "no law to protect victims of this type of crime (baby scam) because no money passed hands."

During the hearing, Kittanning officer Greg Koprivnak testified before District Judge James Owen that in his opinion Slanina's actions caused physically offensive conditions for the Vests because they believed they would soon be adopting a baby.

Koprivnak said the couple flew to Pittsburgh, rented a car and arrived at Butler Memorial Hospital on Dec. 30 where they believed Slanina, or the woman known to them as Amiee, was in labor.

At the time of Slanina's arrest, while Koprivnik questioned the Vests, he said "Rebecca was crying profusely and didn't understand why someone would fake a pregnancy and uproot them from Idaho for a baby that didn't exist."

In addition to the emotional toll, Koprivnak said, the Vests spent $2,524.50 which included expenses for plane tickets, car rental, hotel accommodations, food and gas.

Defense attorney, Chuck Pascal, argued that Slanina never asked the Vests for money. Pascal asked Koprivnak if there is record of a text message in which Slanina specifically asked the Vests to come to Butler at a particular time: "Was there an overt invitation to come to Butler now?"

Koprivnak answered no, that it was inferred based on the sequence of messages sent between Slanina and the Vests and said that Slanina had sent a text to the Vests saying, "Please tell me you are coming."

Pascal asked Koprivnak: "Were they (the Vests) ever placed in physical danger by flying to Pennsylvania from Idaho?"

Koprivnak answered: "I don't know if I can answer that, I don't believe so."

Pascal responded that Slanina is "basically charged here because she lied."

"She (Slanina) lied to them (the Vests), creating a fantasy. She made up a persona and as a result of that, led them to believe she would give them her baby. Based on that they made a decision to fly to Pennsylvania," said Pascal.

He argued that the actions of the defendant do not meet the criteria for disorderly conduct causing physically offensive conditions and that the charges should be dismissed.

Calarie argued that Slanina had been engaged in "a very cruel game."

"The Vests were seriously inconvenienced," said Calarie. "She (Slanina) didn't get to the point of asking them for money because she was in jail."

Owen said he would take the matter under advisement and do some research before making a decision.

Bail was set at $25,000

The scammer wins again

She's won yet again.

 She sat in the courtroom yesterday and made mental notes of how to stay in the gray areas of the law so as not to face punishment now or for the future crimes she's planning. She's figuring out ways to get away with bigger crimes.  She knows now too that she can play the emotional scam for kicks and use that MO in the future so as not to get in trouble or face time in jail. 

Officer Greg emailed me early this morning with details of the preliminary hearing.  He had to drop the serious charge with no other felony to file to it.  He's praying and hoping that at this point the judge will at least keep the two misdemeanor charges, but he hasn't ruled on that yet.  Of course, he's extremely frustrated and spent countless personal hours trying to find something to keep her in jail to no avail.  There is just no money involved on this one and no law making this type of emotional, cruel, heartless scam a felony or even a crime for that matter.  Though the thoughts of other current victims who gave her money is heartwrenching, at this point, it would be the only saving factor this time around. 

Basically, there is nothing else he can do.  She will continue to do this and another state will be going through the same thing...trying to find something to charge her with.  Escentially, no state wants her there and they are just passing her around to another because they don't know what to do with her.

So now she will face another judgement which will basically lead to nothing and be re-paroled to Ohio and again, nothing will happen.  In a short while, she will be destroying other lives.

Two Newspaper Articles from The Tennessean

By TRAVIS LOLLER
Staff Writer

Published: Monday, 07/24/06
Mike and Chantel Early traveled from Iowa to Nashville, expecting to adopt a newborn baby from a Nashville woman who had agreed to give up her child.

In the months leading up to the adoption, they spent thousands of dollars in legal fees and in living expenses for the birth mother.

But after arriving in Nashville in early June of 2005, the birth mother stopped answering her phone.

The adoption facilitator who had matched the couple with the mother said the woman had given birth and changed her mind about giving the baby up, the Earlys said.

"Until you've been through it, you don't know what it is when you expect to go to the hospital and hold your baby and then all of a sudden there's nothing," Mike Early said in an interview this month.

Then, three weeks ago, they saw the birth mother, Amy Cumbee of Nashville, on the television news show "Dateline."

Through hidden cameras placed in a Nashville hotel, the Earlys watched as Cumbee told another woman, Lori Coleman of Athens, Tenn., that she wanted them to adopt her soon-to-be-born baby.

The program had been filmed in January, just seven months after Cumbee had supposedly given birth to the baby the Earlys had hoped to adopt.

Amy Cumbee is now being held at the Metro Jail in Nashville on charges of identity theft for using the name of her friend, Christy Tidwell, to post ads on the Internet saying she was a birth mother seeking adoptive parents.

She is scheduled to appear in court today in connection with that case, and the Davidson County District Attorney's Office is following up the claims of the Earlys, the Colemans and two other couples.

Cumbee declined a request to be interviewed for this story.

Coleman found Cumbee on the Internet last November. In the months that followed, Coleman and her husband gave her money and gift cards for her living expenses, Coleman said.

They agreed to meet in Nashville, where Lori Coleman said she gave Cumbee more than $600 for living expenses.

As the "Dateline" secret cameras and microphones rolled, Cumbee called several times that night to chat. During the last call, Cumbee said she was in labor.

But two hours later, Cumbee's phone was disconnected.

"It's not the monetary loss I'm worried about," said Coleman, who said she spent $7,000 on expenses associated with the planned adoption, including living expense payments to Cumbee. "It's just the most emotional abuse you can imagine."

At least four couples have come forward with similar stories about Cumbee, and Coleman said she does not want any more prospective parents to fall victim to the woman.

But prosecuting Cumbee on anything more than identity theft may not be easy. That's because a birth mother cannot legally give up custody of her baby until at least three days after it is born.

Having the birth mother change her mind at the last minute is a risk all adoptive parents run. And if private attorneys and adoption facilitators do not check on the background of the mother, experts say, there's little to stop someone from promising the same baby to numerous couples and then backing out, or even pretending to be pregnant and using the back-out to cover up the fact that she never had a baby.

"The whole realm of private adoptions is very much vulnerable to those kinds of abuses because there isn't any clear monitoring," said Susan Brooks, a professor of law at Vanderbilt University.

Using a state-licensed agency is probably safe, she said. But adoptions are expensive, and finding a birth mother on your own can greatly reduce the costs.

Neither Brooks nor Victor Groza, an adoption expert and professor of social work at Case Western Reserve University, knew of any public or private organization that tracks complaints about adoption scams.

Early said Cumbee should go to jail.

"It's not the money she scammed," he said. "It's just the hurt that she's caused all these families."

"We had been trying fertility treatment for three years before we decided to try adoption," he said. "It wasn't an easy decision to do that."

He also is upset with the adoption facilitator, who he feels failed to properly look into Cumbee's background before matching the couple with her.

Coleman said she would have expected her adoption attorney to figure out that Cumbee was using a false name and address and never dreamed that something like this could happen.

"In the adoption world, it's just like a free-for-all," Coleman said. "People are just going nuts because there are no restrictions."


Published: Monday, 07/24/06


________________________________________________________________________________

Woman says she expected adoption but was conned


Lori Coleman, left, and Crystal Tidwell are sworn in by Judge Sue McKnight Evans during a hearing on Monday for Amy Cumbee. RICKY ROGERS / THE TENNESSEAN

By SHEILA BURKE
Staff Writer

Published: Tuesday, 07/25/06
An Athens, Tenn., woman who wanted a baby testified on Monday that she was duped into giving money to a Nashville woman now at the center of an alleged adoption scam.

The testimony came during a preliminary hearing for Amy Cumbee, 27, who faces a charge of identity theft.

Cumbee has not been charged in connection with claims — featured on NBC's television show "Dateline" — that she swindled as many as four couples by telling them they could adopt her soon-to-be-born baby. At least two couples said they paid thousands of dollars for lawyers and Cumbee's living expenses. It's unclear whether Cumbee was ever actually pregnant.

"She's just got to be held accountable for what she's done," said Lori Coleman, the East Tennessee woman who claims she and her husband were conned last winter into thinking they would be able to adopt the baby they believed Cumbee was carrying.

Cumbee, who is held at Metro Jail, declined to be interviewed. She did not appear at the hearing

The two met on an Internet site that links couples with women who want to give up children. Cumbee's identity theft case stems from her alleged use of the name of another woman, Christy Tidwell, to arrange an adoption.

Coleman said she has struggled to gain interest of law enforcement agencies and vowed to crusade for stricter regulation of adoptions. The Davidson County district attorney's office said last week it is looking into claims of the couples. •


Published: Tuesday, 07/25/06

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.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

Internet adoption scam; One of the most heartbreaking schemes we've seen:

With our cameras rolling, see as victims confront the woman who took more than just their money, she stole their dream of adopting a child.

-
Internet adoption scam-

Families deceivedThe Mantooths and the Colemans figure out they have the same prospective birth mother – and that she might not have had any intention of having her baby adopted.


Families deceived

Dateline meets the woman known on the Internet as "Christy,” who says she's excited to give Lori Coleman her baby, but there's something she needs first: rent.


Meet "Christy"

The Colemans have given Christy their trust -- and hundreds of dollars -- believing she's on the up and up. They aren't going to like what our cameras catch Christy doing next.


All about the money?

Dateline’s Victoria Corderi and the Colemans confront “Christy,” who is actually Amy Ost Cumbee.


Confronting "Christy"

Why there are few prosecutions for potential Internet scams such as this one. Plus, meet someone else who says he's been a victim of the same woman – her ex-husband.


Is there justice?

Dateline’s Victoria Corderi and the hopeful adoptive parents, Lori and Chris Coleman, confront the birth mother who led the couple to believe she was going to give up her baby.


A difficult confrontation

Lori Coleman talks about the pain and disappointment of a failed Internet adoption.


Was she scammed?

investigation on Net adoption scams and ‘Christy’ wasn’t the end of the story. After our report aired, some viewers recognized her and contacted Dateline with new information. More people came forward to say they too were scammed. And was there even a baby?


More victims, more possible cons

Victoria Corderi talks to Matt Lauer about scam

'Dateline' exposes internet baby adoption scamJune 16: NBC's Victoria Corderi talks with "Today" show host Matt Lauer about the "Dateline NBC" investigation into an online baby adoption scam.

'Dateline' exposes internet baby adoption scam