Texas adoption agency owner claims she did nothing wrong when making payments to women she believed were pregnant
NORTH TEXAS — An alarming story about an adoption agency and allegations of buying unborn children from inmates in the Tarrant County jail has taken a surprising turn.
A CBS News Texas investigation found that one of the two alleged victims in the case wasn't even pregnant when she was taking money from the adoption agency owner, who is facing criminal charges.
Adoption agency owner Jody Hall was arrested last month for the crime of allegedly illegally paying pregnant inmates in the Tarrant County Jail "for the delivery of the unborn child," which would be given to adoptive parents to raise.
However, according to one of the two inmates who were paid for their babies, they were never pregnant.
Raynetta Harris admits to CBS News Texas from behind bars that she and several other inmates lied to Hall about being pregnant so the owner of Adoptions International Incorporated would continue to deposit money into their jail commissionary accounts.
"Everybody was in there taking the money," Harris said. "Act like you're pregnant or whatever and she'll just pay you the money."
Harris, who's now serving her remaining time for theft in a prison outside Houston, said that she doesn't feel any guilt over taking hundreds of dollars in what amounted to free money from the adoption agency owner.
"No. Why not? She can't do nothing to me," said Harris. "I'm in jail."
Harris said she knew of only one inmate who was actually pregnant. The others, she said, simply took advantage of the offer of free money and cashed in while pretending to be carrying a child for an adoption agency to take possession of.
That inmate who was pregnant decided to keep her baby despite receiving money from Hall.
The charges against the 68-year-old that could result in a 10-year prison sentence are nothing less than ridiculous according to her attorney, Frank Sellers.
"The money given to these women was not to facilitate buying a child," Sellers said. "Jody is at a loss for why she is being targeted like this, she feels and we feel, that she has not done a single thing illegal."
Sellers said Hall was simply doing what every adoption agency is allowed to do according to state law which is to offer "financial assistance to a birth mother to meet her reasonable and necessary living expenses..."
"Adoption agencies like the one Jody ran are allowed to provide reasonable living expenses for women or her clients who want to put their children up for adoption," said Sellers. "It was $50 a week at most to put on their commissary to buy additional honey buns, food and toiletries for these ladies."
Sellers said the hundreds of dollars Hall deposited into the GettingOut apps of Harris and Munoz were to help with essentials that are not free in jail.
"They don't get shampoo, they don't get feminine products that they need, they don't have soap sometimes," said Sellers. "They stop feeding at 4 p.m. and if you're pregnant you might get hungry in the evening or at night. They don't provide soap, they don't provide enough toothpaste."
The attorney also says there's nothing unethical about agencies like Hall's making adoption agreements with women behind bars, which he said she's done a handful of times since 1996.
But the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office, which conducted the investigation, said in a statement that the payments crossed a legal line saying, "The Tarrant County Jail incurs all necessary pregnancy-related and living expenses of their inmates" and "female inmates are provided all hygiene products.
Tarrant County Jail also said, "The physician can prescribe additional food portions to be offered and pregnant inmates are provided a morning and evening snack."
Several adoption agencies confirmed to CBS News Texas that reimbursing birth mothers for expenses isn't a crime, but they don't have enough details on this case to weigh in.
The National Council for Adoption says since 2010, the average cost to adopt an infant in the U.S. is $32,000, which includes birth mother expenses.
Hall's attorney said that also includes what the inmates were receiving money for.
If anyone should be charged, Sellers said, it's the inmates who took money to help with prenatal child care they didn't need.
"She certainly feels like she's been taken advantage of, that's for sure," said Sellers. "Her agency has been put on hold pending an investigation ... this is having a chilling effect on what they do and how they've been doing things forever."