Prosecutors File Charges Against Adult Adoption Agency CEO UPDATED

“Federal prosecutors announced Thursday they will file charges against the CEO of a nonprofit adult adoption agency in Sacramento that claimed to be helping undocumented immigrants get citizenship.

Helaman Hansen, the CEO of Americans Helping America Chamber of Commerce, faces charges of conspiracy as well as wire and mail fraud.

U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner made the announcement that Hansen faces 13 counts of conspiracy and fraud during a news conference Thursday.

“Fraud schemes come in a lot of flavors, and this one is pretty creative, I think,” Wagner said. “Far-fetched would be another word for it. I haven’t seen one quite like this before.”

KCRA 3 conducted several investigations into Americans Helping America Chamber of Commerce, or AHA, after it was sued on behalf of several immigrants in San Francisco claiming the agency collected tens of thousands of dollars for citizenship, but never delivered on its promises.

In December, the FBI served a warrant on the AHA headquarters, seizing all the agency’s computers, files and phones.

At the time, Hansen, of Elk Grove, said he welcomed the raid.

“Man, I was not even surprised. I was happy,” Hansen said.

A month later, Hansen shifted his position and said the same clients he was purporting to help needed to come to his meeting Jan. 30, or he would turn them in to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Hansen stated a similar message on his YouTube channel, saying: “When you say if you don’t want to come to this meeting and you don’t want to stay here in America, you don’t want to follow the rules, you don’t want to follow anything, it gives us, the Chamber of Commerce, the right that we are going to be sending a list of people that don’t want to be in America to the Homeland Security because we have been ordered by Homeland Security to release all the list of people that are around in our Chamber of Commerce.”

KCRA 3 Investigates went to the AHA offices the day of the meeting, but neither Hansen, nor any employees for AHA, would provide any details.

It was unclear if Hansen ever turned in a list of names to immigration.

Wagner said that as many as 500 alleged victims have signed up for Hansen’s program since 2012.  But when KCRA 3 Investigates spoke with Hansen one-on-one in December, he claimed there were far more people who has signed up for the program.

“Thousands as far as I’m concerned,” Hansen said in December.

Courts in Sacramento and Alameda counties have already blocked adoptions by AHA.

The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office opened its own investigation into Hansen for allegedly falsifying documents, which the federal indictment states, as well.

One question prosecutors were asked Thursday was why if U.S. Customs had known about Hansen’s adoption program as early as 2012 did it take four years for an indictment.

“When you’re dealing with multiple entities operating in multiple states trying to get information (and) as we spoke before, from victims who are reluctant to talk to law enforcement, getting a sense of the full scope of it can be a challenge,” Wagner said.

On Thursday, KCRA 3 Investigates went to Hansen’s office to try and get his reaction to the indictment, but the offices were closed and nobody was inside.

Hansen has been taken into custody and was in the process of being booked into the Sacramento County Jail.

Wagner said AHA was operating up until last week.

“We’re hoping that with Mr. Hansen’s arrest it will be substantially more difficult for them to operate,” Wagner said.

Wagner added that they will ask for restitution for the immigrants who gave money to Hansen hoping for a path to citizenship, but that money will only come if Hansen is convicted.”

Prosecutors file charges against Sacramento adult adoption agency CEO [KCRA 2/11/16]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

Update: “HELAMAN HANSEN ENTERED THE COURT IN A WHEELCHAIR. HIS LAWYER CLAIMED HIS FAILING HEALTH AND HIS TIES TO THE PACIFIC ISLANDER COMMUNITY IN BE RELEASED.

HELAMAN HANSEN TOLD KCRA 3 INVESTIGATORS HE WOULD GET UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS CITIZENSHIP BY HAVING A U.S. THIS AND ADOPTED THEM. HE WAS CHARGING DOLLARS PER ADOPTION, SOMETHING IMMIGRATION ATTORNEYS SAID COULD NOT BE DONE LEGALLY. SEIZED THE RECORDS AND COMPUTERS FROM HIS COMPANY, AMERICANS HELPING AMERICA.

LAST WEEK, A GRAND ON 13 COUNTS OF FRAUD AND CONSPIRACY. TODAY, INVESTIGATORS SAY AFTER ANALYZING RECORDS, THEY BELIEVE HE MAY HAVE TAKEN UP TO $1 MILLION FROM ALLEGED VICTIMS. HAD BEEN TAKING OUT $20,000 A MONTH FROM THE AHA BANK ACCOUNTS.

WOMEN WHO SAID THEY KNEW HIM DID NOT WANT TO SEE HANSEN IN JAIL AND WERE CERTAIN FAMILY MEMBERS WOULD COME UP WITH MONEY FOR HIS RELEASE.

NEITHER WOMAN WOULD GIVE THEIR LAST NAME. HENSON’S WIFE LEFT WITHOUT TALKING TO REPORTERS. IN ADDITION TO USING HIS BUSINESS ACCOUNT TO USE — BUY GROCERIES AND UTILITIES, INVESTIGATORS SAY HANSEN HAD A PATTERN OF TAKING OUT CASH. HIGHER THAN $100,000.”
CEO accused of adult adoption scheme in Sacramento denied bail by judge[KCRA 2/18/16 by Kevin Oliver]