Lawsuit: Adoption Advantage, Inc. UPDATED
In December 2010, Arkansas Attorney General, Dustin McDaniel, filed a consumer protection lawsuit against a now-defunct Little Rock adoption agency called Adoption Advantage, Inc.
This case finally came to trial this week.
Background
The lawsuit named “Adoption Advantage, Inc., its owners, Ed Webb and Donna Gail Webb, and former employee Jaclyn Potter.”
“The complaint alleges that the defendants, who claimed they specialized in domestic infant adoptions, deceived prospective adoptive families with false promises of available birth mothers seeking adoptive families for their infants and that the defendants charged thousands of dollars in up-front fees. The company promised that if couples would sign a contract and wire the money they could immediately adopt a child. These promises were made when no infant was then available for adoption and the company had no expectation of providing the services contracted for.
Many of these consumers gave their entire savings to Adoption Advantage in hopes of finding a baby to adopt, Attorney General McDaniel said. This company has not only deceived consumers and taken money, they have crushed the hopes and dreams of individuals hoping to complete their families.
The lawsuit seeks a permanent injunction to bar the defendants from representing that they can facilitate adoptions and from charging or collecting any fees in connection with such services. In addition, the lawsuit requests restitution for affected consumers and asks the court to impose civil penalties upon the defendants.”
Adoption Agency Sued by Arkansas Attorney General
[KARK 12/9/10]
“It’s been 4 years since Redfield resident Lachea Owen contacted Adoption Advantage looking for information on adopting a child, but she says the name still conjures awful memories.
Owen said, “I cringe, it makes me sick to my stomach. I think of the fact that my husband and I and other families have literally been to hell.”
She says after she emailed them she received aggressive phone calls daily. After much persistence, she and her husband sent in their first payment.
Owen said, “After we gave them a check for $25,920, it was rare that we heard anything from them.”
After months of not having her calls returned, she found out they were not the only couple getting the run-around. KARK 4 went to a Department of Human Services hearing in 2009 where Adoption Advantage’s owner, Ed Webb gave up his license. He had 47 complaints against him.
In December of 2010 the attorney general’s office filed a complaint against the agency accusing Ed Webb, Donna Gail Webb, and their employee Jacklyn Potter of preying on emotionally vulnerable couples and falsely and recklessly promising children.
“The best way I can describe them is they’re evil people with ugly souls. I’ve never seen anyone who could prey upon something that is so near and dear and precious to someone, so delicate and they just didn’t care,” said Owen.
KARK 4 tried contacting the owners but every number listed was disconnected. While the Owens are waiting to learn if they’ll ever get their money back, with help from a fertility doctor and more than $100,000 they’ve gotten what they’ve always wanted, a baby.
Owen said, “It was nice after everything we had been through to be able to finally have our own child. Our own child that no one could take away from us.”
The state has handled 500 public adoptions last year. They don’t track the number of private adoptions. The attorney general’s case against Adoption Advantage and it’s owners is still in the discovery phase.”
AR Families Wait for Justice in Adoption Advantage Case
[KARK by 7/16/11 Brittany Johnson]
April 2013
“The former co-director of a Little Rock adoption agency is in hot water after allegedly taking people’s money but failing to connect them with kids.
Jennifer Duran’s road to motherhood was rocky. Her first adoption attempt started with joy but is ending in court.
“It was very disheartening and very sad and very depressing,” said Duran.
The attorney general’s office has brought a deceptive practice lawsuit against former Little Rock adoption agency Adoption Advantage.
They’re accused of defrauding the Duran’s and dozens of other families.
“It was very scary because we had been hoping and praying that this would be how we’d have a child.”
Around 50 families lodged complaints against Adoption Advantage’s owner Ed Webb at a Department of Human Services hearing back in 2009. The company’s owner Ed Webb agreed to give up his adoption license at the time but now, investigators can’t track him down and think he may have moved overseas.
While the agency was closed, Webb’s ex-wife and former agency co-director Donna Gain Hight never lost her adoption license and has remained a practicing adoption agent to this day. If the lawsuit is successful, Hight may have to pay thousands of dollars in fines and lose her adoption license.
Hight’s attorney said that would be an unjust conclusion because Hight didn’t know that her old spouse was a scammer, and claims she isn’t culpable because she never had any intent to defraud or deceive anyone.
The prosecution rested Wednesday. The defense will present their argument Thursday.”
Closed adoption agency sued by Attorney General
[KATV 4/25/13 by Roger Susanin]
Donna Gail Hight (previously Webb) started All For You Adoptions in Tennessee in March 2009. Bizapedia now indicates that it is inactive/dissolved. There is still a website with that name that only mentions adopting in California and Texas. See here .
Read a lot of complaints about Adoption Advantage and its employees here.
“The former co-director of a Little Rock adoption agency continued her testimony Thursday, trying to explain why the program took families’ money but never connected them with children.
Donna Gail Hight said she was as much a victim as the families, claiming her ex-husband Ed Webb was the real scammer. She said she was physically and emotionally abused by her ex and didn’t know what was going on behind the scenes.”
Former Adoption Agency Head defends actions
[KATV 4/25/13]
REFORM Puzzle Piece
Update : “A Pulaski County jury on Friday rejected Donna Gail Hight’s claims that she had no role in any wrongdoing at Adoption Advantage, a ruling that opens her up to fines that could top $180,000 and damages of more than $400,000.”
State attorneys:Agency preyed on the vulnerable
[NWA Online 4/27/13 by John Lynch]
Update 2: “The divorced couple who ran a now-defunct Little Rock adoption agency, labeled an “outrageous scam” by authorities, should be fined $480,000 — at $10,000 per victim — and forced to pay the victims more than $1 million in restitution, state lawyers claim in recently filed court papers.”
state seeking adoption case fine for damages
[NWA Online 6/23/13]
Update 3: Adoption Advantage loses lawsuit.
“A former co-owner and a former employee of a closed Little Rock adoption agency have been ordered to pay more than $1.2 million in restitution and penalties to former clients and the state of Arkansas.[Uh…how much does Arkansas get? Shouldn’t all the money go to the victims?]
Attorney General Dustin McDaniel says a Pulaski County judge on Tuesday ordered the payments by former Adoption Advantage owner Donna Gail Hight and ex-employee Jacklyn Potter.
They were convicted in April of deceptive trade practices after prosecutors said prospective adoptive parents paid thousands of dollars in upfront fees for adoptions that never took place.
Hight says her ex-husband — Ed Webb — was the owner of the agency and that she only worked for him. Webb was found in default in the case. His whereabouts are unknown.
Potter argued that she was duped by Webb.”
McDaniel sued Adoption Advantage Inc., a defunct Little Rock adoption agency, in 2010, accusing the company of making false promises related to the company’s ability to place a child with prospective parents. All the while, the company and owners Ed Webb and Donna Gail Hight were raking in thousands of dollars in upfront fees collected through their deception.
“Many Arkansas families who earnestly wished to adopt were left with despair and heartbreak after dealing with the defendants,” McDaniel said. “Some consumers gave their life savings to this company toadopt a child. Instead, these callous individuals stole their hopes, dreams and their money.”
In his order issued today, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Mackie Pierce described the defendants’ actions as “simply horrific.” He added that “words cannot adequately describe the despicable conduct,” of the defendants.
Adoption Advantage claimed to specialize in domestic infant adoptions. The company lied to prospective parents about the availability of birth mothers seeking adoptive parents for their infants. Prospective parents were asked to pay tens of thousands of dollars in fees. Couples were asked to sign a contract and wire money to be able to “immediately” adopt a child.
Pierce ordered the defendants to pay a total of $850,749 in restitution to affected consumers. He assessed civil penalties of $370,000 to Adoption Advantage, Webb and Hight for 37 violations of the Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Potter was ordered to pay $2,000 in civil penalties.
The State was awarded $33,577 in fees and costs.
The order permanently prohibits the defendants from operating an adoption service in or from Arkansas regardless of the location of the prospective parents. It also prohibits the defendants from offering to facilitate adoptions for Arkansas residents even if the defendants choose to operate from outside Arkansas.” [Of course they are allowed to operate in another state and one commenter says she operates now in Texas.]
Donna Gail is still doing adoptions in TX but is not licensed there so basically everything that she promises and that you pay for she can’t do. She is unfamiliar with the laws there and nearly cost us our adoption. She left our birthmom high and dry. Did not even stick around for her to sign consent.
Does she have a name for her services? How did you find her? How long has she been working in TX? Is she working alone?
Conviction!! http://m.fox16.com/display/574/story/bfb61dc47e6e2d5ba9ddbc1f73e86c22
She has an agency called All for You Adoption. She is still scamming people. Took our money and never looked back. She is a nasty, nasty individual. Why is she not in jail?? Why is she still hurting people?? Shame in on her. I hope karma catches up to this woman.
Stephanie, is that agency in Germantown, Tennessee? Another commenter mentioned Texas and I couldn’t find that connection.
Very Sorry to hear that she took your money. Have you contacted the attorney general in the state she took your money or the FBI?
As of May she was still practicing. She operates in TN. She handled and nearly messed up our adoption in TX. She left our BM to “handle” another adoption in FL. I noticed her website is inactive. She mentioned “retiring” maybe she did. She is a crook. I am filing a complaint in TN
She helped us with in an adoption in 2010 and was absolutely amazing. I am shocked at what I am reading. She was very professional and we were promised a baby and we got him. He is perfect and I am forever grateful to Donna. She even flew in from Tennessee to PA to help the birth mom sign papers.
Um, uncoerced birthmothers don’t need “help” to sign papers. The fact that Donna took this action is a red flag that the birthmother was at least pressured into surrendering her baby against her will.
Comment it’s sad
Comment she have children of her own. How could they do such a bad thing to other people
All for you adoptions was the agency we went with fir our adoption and we wanted an OPEN ADOPTION. Well we went through multiple families searching for the right one found them and met them. And we agreed to an OPEN ADOPTION well we havent heard from the family in 2 years and i have sent emails countlessly and no response. I am very very very hurt and upset at what i am finding out now. I ak working to find iut what legal standing i have as the birth mom i feel now i was scammed for my baby and really upset.HOW CAN THEY DO THIS TO PEOPLE AND NOT BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS.!!!!
The mother decided after birth not to relinquish her baby. That’s not a scam; that’s a mother who discovered when push came to shove, she couldn’t surrender her child for adoption. This happens.
I’m sorry for your disappointment, but your desire for a child doesn’t give you the right to force another woman to give you hers.