Owner of Adoption Center of Choice Arrested

“James Charles Webb, owner of the Adoption Center of Center [sic.It really is Adoption Center of Choice], or ACC, in American Fork, was arrested on Friday, charged with taking $100,400 in payments from four families who expected he would help them adopt babies. The families never adopted the babies but Webb kept the money, according to court documents.

Webb was also charge with four counts of tax evasion for failing to pay $226,000 in taxes.

ACC has not been in business since its licensed was yanked by the State of Utah Department of Human Services in January of 2014.

In September of 2013, The Utah Division of Licensing placed ACC’s license on probation so it could become compliant after failing to follow state rules. One of the conditions of the probationary license was that the agency would take no new birth mothers or adoptive parents as clients for six months.

Charging documents say that during that period, Webb took payments from the four families. According to the families, all the adoptions feel through and they did not get their money back.

Webb had problems years earlier. His agency facilitated the adoption of a newborn baby girl to a Utah family. The birth mother did not reveal that her estranged husband was not aware of the adoption. The father, Terry Achane, sued and got his baby girl back. According to the Salt Lake Tribune in 2012, the judge in the case said he was “astonished and troubled” by the adoption agency’s role in circumventing the father’s rights.”

Owner of Utah County adoption agency arrested [KUTV 2/6/16 by CRISTINA FLORES]

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