Woman pleads guilty in adoption scheme

NEW HAVEN, Mich. (AP) - A Macomb County woman has pleaded guilty to fraud in a scheme to collect money from couples who wanted to adopt children. Federal prosecutors say Tara Lee of New Haven wasn't licensed to arrange adoptions. Investigators say she at times matched more than one set of adoptive parents to a birth mother. She also matched couples to birth mothers who didn't exist. In her plea agreement Tuesday, Lee admitted collecting at least $250,000 since 2014. In 2018, Lee told a client that a birth mother named RaShaunda had been shot and killed and the baby had died. But RaShaunda didn't exist. Lee could face eight years or more in prison when she returns to Detroit federal court on Nov. 19. Published: Thu, Aug 22, 2019