Paul Petersen (criminal)

Paul Petersen is a former public official in Arizona who was accused of smuggling pregnant women from the Marshall Islands to at least three different states, as part of an adoption scheme. He pled guilty to charges of human smuggling, communication fraud, fraud and other charges in June 2020[1] and was sentenced to six years in prison in an Arkansas federal case in December 2020.[2] His actions violated a compact between the United States and the Marshall Islands, which bans Marshallese people from traveling to the United States for adoptions unless they have a specific visa.[3]

  1. ^ Miller, Jessica (June 19, 2020). "Paul Petersen pleads guilty to human smuggling in Utah as part of a multistate adoption scheme". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  2. ^ Anglen, Jessica Boehm, Jessica Boehm and Robert. "'A baby-selling enterprise': Former Arizona elected official sentenced to 6-plus years in adoption scheme". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2020-12-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Miller, Jessica (October 9, 2019). "Arizona elected official believed to have smuggled more than 40 pregnant women through Utah in illegal 'baby mill'". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2020-06-19.