United States Attorney
Northern District of Texas

1100 Commerce St., 3rd Fl.
Dallas, Texas 75242-1699

Telephone (214) 659-8600
Fax (214) 767-0978

ABILENE, TEXAS, WOMAN SENTENCED TO
TWO YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON, WITHOUT PAROLE, FOR
RUNNING ADOPTION SCAM

Defendant Caused Victims’ Losses of Approximately $35,000

United States Attorney Richard B. Roper announced that Tawana Lynn Howard was sentenced today in federal court in Lubbock, Texas, by the Honorable Sam R. Cummings, United States District Judge, to 24 months imprisonment. Howard, age 26, pled guilty to one count of wire fraud, admitting she ran an adoption scam in which she defrauded adoption agencies and potential adoptive parents. Judge Cummings ordered that she surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on February 8, 2007.

During the summer of 2004, Tawana Lynn Howard began using false and fraudulent representations to solicit money from families and adoption agencies. Howard contacted Adoption Ad Network, Family to Family Adoptions, Inc., and Abby’s One True Gift Adoptions, Inc. to assist her in locating a family to adopt her unborn child and each of these three agencies found a family that agreed to adopt Howard’s child. At no time did Howard inform any of the agencies or families that she was involved with any other entity in the adoption of her unborn child.

One family retained Care Adoption, a Texas child placement agency to coordinate their adoption of Howard’s child. Another family retained Family to Family Adoptions to coordinate their adoption of Howard’s child and the third family retained Little Flower Adoptions, also a Texas child placement agency, to coordinate their adoption of Howard’s child. Howard falsely and fraudulently represented that she was not working with any other adoption agencies or prospective adoptive parents. Howard also knew that it was illegal to accept money from one agency while working with another agency, yet, during this time period of approximately six months, she obtained approximately $6,500.00 from various adoption agencies for her living expenses.

The total loss sustained by the victims, which includes attorneys’ fees, administrative fees, and travel expenses, totaled $34,678.25. In November and December 2004, Howard informed the three families and the respective adoption agencies that she no longer wished to place her child for adoption.

United States Attorney Roper praised the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Abilene Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey R. Haag of the Lubbock, Texas, United States Attorney’s Office.

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