Adoption Consultants Charged With Fraud in State Supreme Court
http://www.oag.state.ny.us/press/1999/may/may27c_99.html
Attorney General Spitzer today announced that he has filed suit against Suffolk adoption consultants for repeated incidents of fraud, illegal conduct, and abusive business practices.
"Adoption of a child requires extraordinary care and commitment," said Attorney General Spitzer. "A family taking steps to adopt requires high-quality advice and legal support. Our case alleges the defandants provided neither to prospective parents or adoptive children."
The company, International Adoption Consultants (IAC) located in Medford, and its principals, Arlene Lieberman and Arlene Reingold, along with their respective spouses, Jay Lieberman and Dennis Reingold, all of Medford, were named in a complaint charging that on multiple occasions they operated an illegal adoption placement service and defrauded adoptive families.
The complaint describes five cases in which it is alleged that IAC misrepresented the status of children for adoption, falsely stated that the company was licensed to conduct direct adoptions in New York State, and charged excessive illegal fees in connection with services which were never performed. Payments from each of the families to IAC often exceeded $10,000.
IAC's activities are limited by the New York State Social Services Law and restricted by its certificate of incorporation to serving as a consulting service for adoptions; providing information such as pre-adoption reviews; immigration requirements; and adoption procedures and finalization procedures.
The complaint alleges that the company exceeded its authority, and assumed the role of an adoption placement agency by working directly with an attorney licenced in Mexico. These activities it is charged violate numerous statutes under the State Social Services Law, Consumer Protection Law, and Not-for-Profit Corporation Law.
IAC's actions and activities, and those of a precursor corporation, Stork International, which was also operated by defendants Arlene Lieberman and Arlene Reingold, were the subject of a series of complaints to the Office of Children and Family Services .
The complaint requests that the court permanently prohibit the defendants from participating in the business of adoption placements, revoke the corporate charter of the companies controlled by the individual defendants, and grant other remedies.
The case arises out of a joint effort of the Attorney General and the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. In today's developments, the Attorney General's Litigation Bureau filed a complaint in New York County Supreme Court. In a related matter, the defendants Arlene Lieberman and Arlene Reingold were taken into federal custody today at the request of the U.S. Attorney. The matter is being handled by the Assistant Attorneys General Judith T. Kramer and Christina A. Leonard