Mother who adopted 21 jailed for fraud

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Marian DiMaria, 58, formerly of Jericho, Vermont, was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison yesterday on her fraud conviction. Upon completion of her prison sentence, DiMaria will be on federal supervised release for 2 years.

During 1999 - 2003 DiMaria and her husband, John DiMaria, lived in Jericho and operated the Gypsy Grace Ranch, advertised as "North America's Largest Breeder" of Gypsy horses, an expensive English draft horse. The DiMarias adopted 21 girls from third-world countries. The adopted girls were all impaired; most were deaf. In February, 2003, the State of Vermont learned that John DiMaria had been sexually abusing the older girls for years. He was convicted and jailed by the State.

Marian DiMaria, formerly Marian Betz of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area, funded the Vermont ranch and her family with a substantial trust fund established by her grandfather, Drew Betz, an inventor. During the State sexual abuse investigation, officials learned that the Marian DiMaria had embezzled money from trust funds established by her grandfather for the benefit of the adopted girls (his great-grandchildren). In 2002 and 2003, after the DiMarias had exhausted Marian DiMaria's trust fund of over $7 million, they deceived the Mellon Bank in Pennsylvania, a trustee of the adopted girls' trusts, into sending them $168,000 for fictitious expenses. Further investigation revealed that DiMaria had received and spent $96,000 from one adopted victim's trust, and had defrauded the Social Security Administration of approximately $13,000, after she learned that her husband had been sexually abusing the children. DiMaria later pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud.

At the sentencing hearing yesterday in Brattleboro, United States District Court Judge J. Garvan Murtha deplored the exploitation of the adopted children. The court found that the adopted victims were "unusually vulnerable," and that DiMaria abused her position of trust that obligated her to care for them. The court imposed a sentence of 21 months in jail, followed by two years of supervised release, and ordered DiMaria to pay full restitution.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Social Security Administration's Office of the Inspector General, and various State agencies, including the Vermont Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, the Department for Children and Families, and the Vermont State Police. DiMaria was represented by Assistant Federal Public defender Elizabeth Mann. The United States was represented by Assistant United States Attorney Bill Darrow.