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Police: Iowan faked pregnancy for money in adoption scam

News

March 2nd, 2015 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have arrested an Ankeny woman accused of faking pregnancy to trick an Iowa couple into giving her money. The Ankeny Police Department says 29-year-old Tracy Leann Bess-Thacker was charged Friday with fourth-degree theft after prospective adoptive parents from Dewitt, Iowa, claim she accepted $200 from them when she wasn’t pregnant.

According to a news release, Bess had signed onto Life Long Adoptions, an agency that connects birth mothers with potential parents. Detectives say Bess wasn’t pregnant during this scam, but that she used information from a prior pregnancy to con people into offering her financial support. Police say Bess previously used a similar scam in multiple states, including Nebraska.