Texas adoption attorney arrested on charges of trying to buy babies from two pregnant inmates He was previously barred from international adoption due to questionable practices

After being banned from brokering international adoptions, an accused fraudster turned to an unexpected goal: pregnant prisoners.

A Texas adoption attorney allegedly made brazen attempts to buy two children from incarcerated women, depositing money into their prison accounts to pay for groceries and entertainment. Jody Hall, 68, was charged with sale or purchase of a toddler and unethical adoption practices, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by KXAS in Dallas. The third-degree felony carries a penalty of up to 10 years in Texas prison.

But this is not Hall’s first brush with infamy. She’s been the topic of investigative series by Honolulu Civil Beat into an adoption pipeline from the Marshall Islands to Honolulu in violation of international law. It is unclear whether Texas police will investigate those activities in reference to the newest investigation.

The latest adoption scheme was uncovered after Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office detectives discovered messages on jail electronic tablets purportedly from Hall to at the very least two inmates, each 20 years old. The messages to one inmate began on March 13, with Hall initially adopting a cordial tone. But they quickly turned to insults and threats when the expectant mother modified her mind and decided to keep the kid.

In her first message, Hall identified herself as “the Director of the Adoption Agency I had signed a contract with” and said she had paid $20 for the inmate’s tablet in order that they could discuss an “adoption plan.” She offered to send photos of the possible adoptive parents, and in a single email, inquired concerning the mother’s health and asked if she was getting enough food in prison. Over the following two months, the messages took on an urgent tone as Hall pressured the inmate to persuade her boyfriend to sign a waiver of her rights to the unborn child.

“Have you heard from your boyfriend? I need to get him to sign a document stating he may be the father, but if he is, he waives his rights and doesn’t want to go to court. Please let me know how to contact him. He can sign the document before the baby is born,” Hall allegedly wrote. according to the local newspaper. When things didn’t go according to plan, the messages became increasingly aggressive.

“I don’t need birth mothers lying to me just to get financial support. And I can’t give you more if he doesn’t want to sign the papers. That means he wants the child if he’s the father.”

By May, it was clear from the news that the arrangement was falling apart—and so was Hall. She slammed the inmate, calling her a “fraud” and threatening to smear her character to “the prosecutor in your case.”

“Amber, you’re in prison and you’re a drug addict. YOU! You did NOT stop him. You’re a fraud and I’m going to tell the prosecutor in your case all about how this family has been supporting you since November and you scammed them WITH THE HELP OF YOUR BOYFRIEND,” she allegedly shouted in all caps, adding, “She has pictures all over FB of her holding a baby. You’re such a liar.”

According to police, Hall deposited $846 into the commissary account of at the very least one inmate. Under normal circumstances, it’s common practice for prospective adoptive parents to fund the medical and housing costs of the possible mother. But since the mother was incarcerated, those costs had already been covered by Tarrant County, making the funding illegal under Texas law.

In 2019, Hall got here under scrutiny for brokering adoptions of children from the Marshall Islands, one other population vulnerable to exploitation. Honolulu Civil Beat reported how moms within the Marshall Islands were easily duped because the kids often live in one other household, and lots of are unaware of the true consequences of adoption.

In one text, Hall told a client that it was “easier to monitor” birth moms flying in from the Marshall Islands, compared to women from the Marshall Islands already in Arkansas, “because we buy the tickets. That way they can’t change them. We’ve filed 3 in the last 3 weeks,” Honolulu Civil Beat reported.

Within days of the revelation, the accrediting agency suspended Hall from international adoptions, and shortly thereafter, the Intercountry Adoption Accreditation and Maintenance Entity revoked her accreditation altogether for failing to meet standards.

In the newest case, Hall was arrested on July 23 but was released from the Hays County Jail the identical day after posting $50,000 bail.