Woman gets 4 months in prison for adoption scam

Woman gets 4 months in prison for adoption scam

The Capital Times  —  4/02/2009 12:12 pm

A Minnesota woman has been sentenced to four months in prison for wire fraud after scamming four families into thinking they were going to adopt her unborn child.

Melissa Christensen, 32, of Red Wing, Minn., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb in federal court in Madison on Wednesday.

Christensen pleaded guilty to the charges in January.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Altman, Christensen met four families through the Internet, telling each of the families that she was pregnant and wanted each of the families to adopt her unborn child.

In each case, she later informed the families that the baby had either died or that the father wouldn't agree to the adoption.

http://www.madison.com/tct/redirect_445543