Adoption Fraud in Florida

“An Ocala woman is facing adoption fraud charges after she was arrested in connection with a warrant from 2020.

The Ocala Police Department responded to a report of two suspicious people in the parking lot of the Burger King on SW College Road on June 1. When an officer made contact with 33-year-old Amber Bledsoe, she began to cry and admitted spontaneous statements that she had an active warrant.

A record of the warrant revealed Bledsoe completed a multi-page adoption questionnaire back in 2020 with Lifetime Adoption to have her unborn child placed with a family for adoption. The paperwork completed included a document entitled “Statement of Understanding” meaning Bledsoe acknowledged she understood it is illegal to get financial benefits from a potential adoptive family with no intent of not completing the adoption. Bledsoe and a Lifetime Adoption attorney later met at a nearby Publix to talk about financial benefits Bledsoe would receive. During the meeting, an attorney discovered Bledsoe was living in a tent in the woods. The attorney told Bledsoe the benefits would include food, transportation, medical expenses, clotting, miscellaneous expenses related to pregnancy and rent, so Bledsoe would not have to complete a pregnancy test while living in a tent. During the pregnancy she received a total amount of $9,639.48, according to the report.

According to the report, on September 2, 2020, Bledsoe delivered the baby and the next day she received additional birth mother expenses. Later in the day, she decided she would not be placing the child up for adoption.

On September 4, 2020, Bledsoe signed adoption consents with another attorney on behalf of a family located in Orlando, Florida. The initial attorney learned of Bledsoe’s communications with another attorney when Bledsoe accidentally referred to her as a different name. The attorney in Orlando informed the initial attorney Bledsoe had been in contact with the adoptive family in Orlando during her pregnancy and received duplicate living expenses from the family totaling thousands of dollars.

In December of last year, the attorney from the Orlando adoption stated Bledsoe attempted to make arrangements with another adoption agency in an effort for them to pay more money for the child. After learning this, Bledsoe and the Orlando attorney came to an agreement and completed the adoption with the Orlando family. Bledsoe assured the lawyer that she would honor their agreement and complete the adoption process once the child was born.

The attorney paid Bledsoe $6,926.32 in birth mother expenses.

The attorney later reported Bledsoe gave birth to the child in the toilet of her apartment and there was a combination of cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine in the child’s blood.

Shortly after the Orlando family completed the adoption, the Orlando attorney was contacted by the initial attorney from Lifetime Adoption who informed her Bledsoe was also being paid by another family, reveals the report.

During the investigation, it was found that after giving birth to the child, Bledsoe was kicked out of her apartment and living in a tent again due to her drug addiction, the report stated.

In January, an officer was notified Bledsoe was pregnant again.

Bledsoe was arrested recently on June 1, due to the warrant and transported to the Marion County Jail with a bond set at $10,000. She was charged with circuit warrant adoption fraud with a court date set on July 6 at 9 a.m., jail records show.”

Ocala woman facing adoption fraud after scamming over $15,000 from two hopeful families
[Ocala-News 6/3/21 by Sade Teel]

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