CA Man Charged in Adoption Scam Held in FL

Carla Jones

MIAMI (AP) -- A California man charged with operating an adoption scam has been arrested in Miami, nine months after authorities issued a warrant for his arrest.

Orson Mozes was taken into custody on Monday and is awaiting extradition. Miami-Dade court records show a hearing on his case is scheduled for Jan. 7.

Prosecutors in California say the 57-year-old bilked 62 people out of thousands of dollars, some paying up to $11,000 to adopt children from Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Russia. Mozes is charged with felony counts of taking money under false pretenses and grand theft via the Internet.

It was not immediately clear if Mozes had an attorney.