A former Arizona county official who pleaded guilty last year to running an adoption fraud scheme must report to prison on Thursday to serve the first of three sentences in a prison near El Paso, Texas.
Paul Petersen, an adoption attorney and former Republican Maricopa County assessor, was indicted in October 2019 for running an adoption scheme across Arkansas, Arizona, and Utah, in which he illegally brought pregnant women from the Marshall Islands to the United States to give birth. He then charged “significant sums of money” to act as a legal facilitator of the adoptions, according to 5 News.
Prosecutors said Petersen was involved in at least 70 adoption cases across the three states. Marshall Islands residents have been prohibited from traveling to the U.S. for adoption-related reasons since 2003.
“By preying upon both pregnant women from the Marshall Islands and loving Arkansan couples who wanted to adopt children, Mr. Petersen acted in a despicable manner and profited off individuals who simply sought to enrich their families,” FBI special agent Diane Upchurch of Little Rock said.
Peterson was sentenced to serve six years in prison in the Arkansas case. He has pleaded guilty in the Arizona and Utah cases as well and is awaiting additional sentencing.
“I tried to make happy families, and I ruined my own,” Petersen said in pre-sentencing remarks to the judge, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
In a court statement, Petersen said that he didn’t realize his actions were wrong at the time, according to 4029 News.
“No. No. Mr. Petersen, you knew every single time that you brought these women into the country and had them lie about their purpose for coming,” Judge Timothy Brooks responded. “You knew every single time you coached them or had your subordinates coach them on what to tell the judge or the information you put in the forms about how long they’d been in the country what expenses they had. You knew lying and making these types of false statements to immigration and state court judges was wrong.”
The judge in the case issued a sentence two years longer than guidelines recommended and said Petersen’s scheme was a “criminal livelihood.”
Petersen has submitted an appeal to the sentence.
Following the October indictment, the Arizona attorney general opened a second criminal investigation against Petersen regarding allegations that he “would often include fraudulent or false information on court paperwork to ensure adoptions were approved” and relied on additional false information to overcharge prospective adoptive parents.
“While Paul Petersen enjoyed a position of respect and trust in the community, he manipulated adoptive families and bilked Arizona taxpayers for his own profit,” Attorney General Mark Brnovich said. “Mr. Petersen must now answer for his crimes. It doesn’t matter if you’re politically connected, wealthy, or an elected official, the rule of law applies equally to everyone.”
