A Texas adoption attorney allegedly attempted to buy two kids from jailed women by depositing money into their commissary accounts. Jody Hall, 68, is charged with two counts of sale or purchase of a minor, a third-degree felony punishable by ten years in prison.
According to an arrest complaint filed by Dallas NBC affiliate KXAS, detectives from the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office intercepted messages between Hall and a 29-year-old pregnant woman using her cell tablet beginning March 13.
In the message, Hall presents herself as the “Director of the Adoption Agency that you have signed with” and requests that she phone her. Hall says she has “cash for your commissary.” Over the next two months, Hall spoke with the convict regarding the adoption, including whether her partner would sign a document giving up his parental rights. However, the relationship appeared to worsen over time.
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“I don’t need birth mothers who lie to me just to get financial help,” Hall allegedly wrote. “And I won’t be able to provide you anything else unless he agrees to sign the paperwork. That suggests he wants the baby if he is the father.
Detectives discovered that Hall put $846 in her commissary. According to Texas law, prospective adoptive parents are permitted to pay for medical and housing expenses for expecting mothers placing their newborns for adoption. However, detectives say Hall’s cash did not meet those standards because the expenses were made by Tarrant County while the mother was in jail.
Hall became unhappy when, in early May, the inmate changed her mind and decided to keep her kid after birth. The attorney referred to the inmate as a “drug addict,” according to the arrest report.
“You are a scammer and I will be telling the prosecutor in your case all about how this family supported you since November and you scammed them WITH THE HELP OF YOUR BOYFRIEND,” Hall, allegedly, wrote. “He’s posted images of himself with the infant on Facebook. “You are a liar!!!”
Deputies arrested Hall on July 23 and transported her to the Hays County Jail, where she has since bonded out.
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According to her LinkedIn profile, Hall formed Adoptions International, Inc. in 1995 and serves as its executive director.
“We help families from every state in the US or abroad, as well as citizens of other countries, ADOPT CHILDREN living in orphanages all over the world,” according to her profile on LinkedIn.
According to Lawandcrime, Hall’s organization lost its certification from the Intercountry Adoption certification and Maintenance Entity to adopt children abroad in 2019 for “failing to maintain substantial compliance with accreditation standards.”