Letter of Tim and Janise Crumpler

To Whom it May Concern:

We were clients of FOC for over three years while we attempted to adopt from Samoa. During that time period we were lied to numerous times by Scott Banks. The first child we applied to adopt was living with her grandmother in Samoa while the birthmother was off-island. When issues arose as to whether she would be relinquished or not, I asked why they put her up for adoption if there was no relinquishment in place, and even I knew that a grandmother could not sign in the birth mother's place. Scott said that was the way things were done in Samoa. After months of Scott telling us there were meetings going on in the village regarding the issue of letting this child be adopted or not, he said the birthmother took the girl and left the island so she could not be adopted. This left us feeling unsettled and as if we were a part of a plan to separate a child from her family.

Our next referral was a pretty little girl who was relinquished by both parents. We were definitely unsettled by the thought of adopting a child who had two parents, but we were assured the family had abandoned her to the nanny house and was adamant about this plan. We had always expected to adopt a child from an orphanage and this idea was disturbing, but we rationalized that if the parents were determined, then we might as well be the ones to help give this child a home. I believe we would have Maria in our home now, except that once all the paperwork was in place, Scott called and said the family had decided to place her little brother, and did we want him, too? Of course, we rushed to change all our paperwork to reflect this change. When I received a copy of the little boy's paperwork, I was surprised to find that the date showing his acceptance into the nanny home was just a couple of months after his sister came into care, and not SIX months later which is when Scott first called us about him. In retrospect, I believe the parents were coming and going with the children and changing their mind about relinquishing them, and that's why we weren't told about the little boy until much later.

Just as the adoption was completed in Samoa and we were waiting for the children to receive their visas so that we could go get them, the investigation by the State Dept. was in place, and after the parents' interview with Mr. Adams, he would not approve the adoption. The children went back home with their parents and we lost all our money.

Scott Banks told me many conficting and disturbing things during the course of our three-year association. Looking back on it, I realize most of what he told me was all lies. In our opinion, nothing Scott Banks says can be trusted.

Sincerely,

Tim and Janise Crumpler