aipadoptiontruthandconsequences

Fugitive arrested in international adoption scam 3 06 09 New York News and Tri State News 7online com

2009-03-10T18:20:00.001-07:00

Orson Mozes brought to justice.....

KEYT - Local - Video - America's Most Wanted Montecito Man Arrested

2009-01-05T06:23:00.001-08:00

Orson Mozes Arrested

2008-12-29T20:24:00.000-08:00

Orson Mozes has been arrested in Florida tonight.

http://www.amw.com/fugitives/capture.cfm?id+56499

Miami police nab ‘Most Wanted’ suspect
Orson Mozes, 57, who is accused of running international adoption scam, escaped from law many times
By RYAN MILLS (Contact)
Originally published 8:01 p.m., Monday, December 29, 2008
Updated 8:19 p.m., Monday, December 29, 2008

Orson Mozes

NAPLES — One of “America’s Most Wanted” fugitives who was arrested and slipped through the cracks at least three times recently in Collier and Miami-Dade counties was arrested again Monday, and is behind bars after more than a year on the lam.

Miami-Dade police arrested 57-year-old Orson Mozes in Miami Beach, Detective Roy Rutland said. An anonymous tip initiated the investigation.

“They’ve been tracking him for a couple of days,” Rutland said.

Rutland said Mozes was “staying with somebody,” but declined to elaborate on the exact location of the arrest.

Mozes was wanted in California on 62 counts of theft by false pretenses after authorities say he ran an international adoption scam out of his mansion and swindled his customers out of more than $1 million. He’s been on the run for about a year and a half, and was featured on the television program “America’s Most Wanted” in August.

“We had heard absolutely nothing from him or about him until just last week,” said Norma Hansen, a criminal investigator for the district attorney’s office in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Mozes was arrested Nov. 14 in Collier County after Florida Highway Patrol trooper Roberto Castilla pulled over the white Mazda he was driving at 85 mph in a 70 mph zone on Interstate 75, reports said.

Mozes identified himself as “Jack Rose,” handing over a bogus California driver’s license and Social Security card. He was arrested on charges of possessing a forged or stolen driver’s license and driving without a license.

But Mozes posted an $8,000 bond and skipped town before his court appearance. A bench warrant was issued for his arrest.

The Collier County Sheriff’s Office, which manages the Collier County jail where Mozes was booked under the fake name, confirmed Monday that Orson Mozes and Jack Rose are, in fact, one in the same. The agency used fingerprints to make the confirmation.

After his Nov. 14 arrest in Collier, Miami Shores police arrested him Dec. 9, and Miami-Dade police arrested him Dec. 21. Mozes used the alias “Jerry Brosse” in those arrests, and bonded out and slipped away in all three arrests, authorities say.

A warrant for Mozes’ arrest was signed April 1 in Santa Barbara. According to an affidavit, Mozes operated an international adoption agency, and told prospective parents that he could “hold” children for them in foreign countries, primarily Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Russia.

The prospective parents, who saw photos of children in those countries on the Internet, then sent the agency a fee, generally between $7,000 and $11,000, to “hold” the child, the affidavit said.

After paying, a majority of the parents were told “Your child is no longer available,” reports said. On at least 10 occasions Mozes promised the same child to multiple adoptive parents, investigators said.

He took off with $500,000 in June 2007. At one point, Hansen said, Mozes wrote a letter to his sister telling her he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown and needed to get away.

“We’re definitely happy he’s in custody,” Hansen said. “There are a lot of adoptive families who were overjoyed that he’s in custody.”

Dawn DeLorenzo, 34, of New Jersey, said she was promised three children by Mozes, but just before the adoptions were finalized, was told each time that the child’s mother changed her mind.

She spent two months in Kazakhstan attempting to adopt a child, and lost about $75,000 in the process, about a third of which went to Mozes’ agency.

“I felt like he was Teflon Don,” DeLorenzo said of Mozes and his string of arrests. “My husband and I couldn’t escape a parking ticket, and here’s this guy, he’s getting away with 62 felonies ... and they kept letting him go. It was very frustrating to say the least.”

DeLorenzo said she cried when she learned of Mozes’ arrest.

“I was so happy they finally caught up to him,” she said. “He’ll finally have to face up to his crimes. Not just to me, but to 61 other families.”

Mozes will eventually be extradited to California, Hansen said.

Collier County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Karie Partington said the FBI informed the Florida Highway Patrol sometime after the November arrest that “Jack Rose” was Mozes, and notified the highway patrol about his warrants.

“We don’t know when that notification happened,” Partington said. “That’s why we didn’t receive the notification.”

The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the mix-up to find out what happened, agency spokesman Lt. Chris Miller said.

When asked about disconnects between the various agencies involved in the Collier arrest and release, and the possible usefulness in this scenario of a new warrant alert system recently installed in Lee County and under development in Collier County, Partington said: “We are working to see if there’s a way to avoid this in the future.”

This is the Day.....Our miracle revealed on 7/14/2006

2008-12-11T10:54:00.001-08:00

Below this post and referral photos, is the original real time post from our first blog. A blog written for our daughter, whom ever she was to be, and to our family and friends who wanted to follow us to Kazakhstan and read of our experiences in real time. Because of the emotional toll the loss of numerous referrals had on us and our lack of trust due to all we had come to learn about AIP and Orson Mozes, with guarded words and an anxious heart I blogged only positive events of our journey while in country. I censored our story. And I remained silent about our experiences with AIP and Orson Mozes for close to one year after the completion of our adoption. Our story is extraordinary. As one will come to understand now, as I retell our story in its entirety. This journey was not one of comfort. Labor never is. We were out there, and vulnerable in every sense of the word, every step of the way.
What comforted and prepared us was the reading of online blogs, and communicating with others who had travelled before us. The information gleaned from the Internet really did pave our way. We read about what can and does occur, and formulated how best to deal with the unexpected twists and turns inherently indigenous to International Adoption, compounded especially by an unethical agency. The online blogs and PAP's were a life line. I vowed to be supportive and give back one day when I could. The retelling of our story I pray will shed some light on a road less travelled.

As our journey is retold in its entirety I share now my reasons for remaining silent.

July the 14, 2006, is a vivid memory as I blog our story with photos and all the details that culminated into our miracle.
As I ponder and document the events leading up to July 14th 2006, and see the precious faces of daughters I have loved along our journey, I remain thankful they will forever be chapters in Leah's adoption story. A story that reveals the miraculous chain of events which culminated in Leah becoming our daughter. Our lives have been forever changed and miraculous events have continued even today.

Each one of these precious babies lead the way to our daughter Leah. Seeing them together, and recapping each child's emotional impact and effect on our lives portrays the frame of mind we were in on July the 14th 2006. This truly is a story about faith and miracles.

Natalia- precious Natalia our first referral,
the child who we loved immediately after seeing her referral photo on Adopting.com. Natalia fueled our urgency to get through the paper chase and pay the fee's as quickly as possible because Orson Mozes lead us to believe (for close to six months) that was all we had to do in order to bring "your daughter" home. One can only imagine our shock at seeing the face of an older Natalia (now 12 months old) on the blog of the Sapp family who were in the process of adopting her. Emails and frantic phone calls to Orson produced lies when Orson assured us the baby on the Sapp's blog was "NOT your daughter". It was only after being told this lie that I emailed the Sapp's while they were in country to ask them to check on my Natalia. I rationalized and wanted to believe that our daughters just bore an uncanny resemblance. Once our communication with the Sapp's took place, and I emailed a picture of my Natalia to them in Ust, Orson had no choice but to admit they were the same child. To this day I wonder what Orson told the Sapps, and I am sad for the pain this event had on them during a time when joy should have been the only focus.
Losing Natalia was devastating, yet the life lessons learned served to strengthen our faith. The accepting and realizing losing Natalia was an unanswered pray for us, brought with it the knowledge a miracle simultaneously occurred for Natalia and the family that had adopted her. Seeing our precious Natalia on the blog of another AIP family was an extremely shocking and painful turn of events. However our actions and reactions on that November day, we knew would have a profound effect on our then 11 year old son who was so excited about adopting Natalia and welcoming a baby sister into his heart and life. To teach our son how to constructively deal with this emotional loss, we knew we would be leading by example. Through tears I prayed for God to fill my aching heart with his wisdom. As we were going into the Christmas season God filled my mind with thoughts of Mary, and how faithfully she prayed "let it be done to me". This revelation gave us the strength to trust God completely, even through our pain. So we made a conscious decision to just "accept what had been done to us" and we gave thanks for the Sapp family miracle. In return we received the gift of faith renewed. Our broken hearts began to heal. Little did we know of the many miracles that would be revealed to us in the future.
The beginnings of closure came as we continued to watch and read the Sapp family miracle unfold on their blog. Seeing Natalia surrounded by a loving family was so comforting during this painful time in our adoption journey. Knowing Natalia's lonely days of insignificance were all but over, served to overshadow any remnants of residual pain from our loss. We could see and almost palpate the transformation in Natalia as she began feel her own specialness. Being loved and learning how to love back was easily recognized in the photos of each passing day of bonding. The realization Natalia days being institutionalized in an orphanage were over, produced a profound heart warming. Our eyes were opened as we witnessed the power of unconditional love.
While we believe the tactics Orson Mozes employed were both unethical,immoral and illegal, we also empathised with the Sapp family, and felt they too were victimized because of Orson's practices. Gaining knowledge during the adoption of your child, that another family from your own agency had your child as a referral cannot be easily dismissed, especially when one experienced first hand the emotional devastation of losing referrals also.
On my first blog I purposely omit the devastating loss of our first referral Natalia for 2 reasons. First our fear of repercussions from Orson Mozes during our adoption, and secondly because of the Sapps, after our adoption was complete. While we always felt Gods presence in this miracle, and shared our thoughts with the Sapps via email, we respected their privacy and prerogative and deliberately omitted the beginning of our adoption story on our first blog as mention of it would be some what of a surprise to the blogging community who have followed both our journeys. My thoughts and concerns at the time were for the Sapp family who knew intimately the details. In no way did I want them to feel anything but joy for their adoption and the miracle it was, and is. Because their adoption completed in Oct/Nov of 2005, 8 months before ours, I followed their lead as they never made a mention on their blog that Natalia had been another AIP families referral, or the way they came to find this fact out, or of the miracle we shared. While this was and is their prerogative, we believed God's will was so evident. God even used people like Orson Mozes to forfill his plan. This miraculous event, in my mind forever binds our daughters adoption stories. I can attest to the fact that God placed words into my hurting heart that communicated to the Sapps at the time that while we were devastated, we believed the Youngs received an unanswered prayer while the Sapps received a miracle. We were sincere in our congratulations and thankful to God for opening our eyes and hearts at this most painful time in our lives. Instead of feeling a prolonged pain and anger over our loss, we felt blessed to be a part of their miracle and witness the power of love in action in Natalia's life.
As a final act of closure I emailed all the referral photos we had of Natalia to the Sapps, as I knew how precious they would be to her and to them.
My original plan when I began my blog was to keep these miraculous events, which were the foundation of our adoption story private only because of the Sapps silence. As I rewind and retell this extraordinary story you will come to learn why I went public.

Marina- our second referral came to us via email in February 05.

Marina was one of two referrals Orson had sent us. Both babies were beautiful and the choosing now took on a new meaning. We felt uneasy now "choosing" a child, however we rationalized that adoption is a choice. So we listened to our hearts and chose Marina. We allowed ourselves to hope again. We began to build a dream again. We opened our hearts again. Albeit with distrust as a defense mechanism.
It was during this time that I spent even more time on the Internet searching for blogs of AIP families and anyone traveling to Ust Kamenogorsk to adopt a child.
I meet 2 more AIP families who are about to travel to Ust. One is Candy Bushouse and the other Amy McSpadden. Both of these women befriend us and keep us grounded and focused during the most difficult time of our journey.
Candy left for Ust first, in March 06, and after arriving in Almaty her region was changed. As you can see, her blog ended and so did my communication with her for over 9 weeks
http://candykaz.blogspot.com/ Michigan

Amy arrived in Ust in April 06, and she was instrumental in helping me find out about Marina as I sent Amy my referral photo.
http://themcspaddenfamily.blogspot.com/ Washington DC
Amy was able to locate Marina and was very hesitant to tell me what she had discovered as she knew about Natalia and our loss.
Marina was being adopted, and her parents who were from Ireland were there bonding at the same time as Amy.
Our faith is yet again tested as disappointment and hurt begin again. Because our information came through Amy, we couldn't go to Orson with what we had learned right away. We felt it necessary to wait until Amy's adoption was complete before calling Orson to task yet again. We asked Amy to get a photo if she could so we had palpable proof.

Waiting was agonizing, so I tried to push Orson into getting me an updated photo of Marina. He said that was not possible. I then asked him to just check on Marina and again he reassured me not to worry as "she would not be off the registry or available to be adopted until June". In my naivety, I thought if he checked on her he would discover what I knew. Marina was gone.
It was during this time I realized the perfection and perversion of Orson's crime. With an inability to corroborate any information Orson gave about incountry events and reasons referrals were lost, coupled with a deep seated desire to become parents, the fabricated excuses and lies that spontaneously fell off of Orson's tongue when called to task, just had to be accepted. Orson knew intimately that clients who would open their hearts to love an orphan, would in all probability recover from his lies as long as another child was available. Hence bait and switch kept money in the pipeline and its my opinion this was his only goal. He would stop at nothing to meet this objective and so far these practices made him a wealthy man. (Orson's success ultimately lead to the arrogance that would and did destroy him and AIP.)
Still I had to wait until Amy was home and her adoption complete before I confronted Orson a second time. We were signed sealed and delivered to Orson and AIP so we needed to not alienate Orson as of yet.
In the mean time I revisited Adopting.com and baby 1011 touched my heart. I decided when the time was right I would inquire about her.
So as the weeks past we plotted our next move and how best to handle Orson. It would serve no purpose to make him angry. We rehearsed what we would say to him when the time was right.
After Amy returned to the USA and I knew her adoption was granted, I confronted Orson with what I found out about Marina in a non confrontational way. At first he didn't believe me, and wanted to know how I got this information. After refusing to reveal my source, I firmly believe had I not been able to produce the photo proof, we would have been told that the mother came back. A lie that would have been un verifiable. However now with absolute proof of a second referral loss, Orson I believe, knew we had enough solid evidence to bring a successful law suit. It was then I inquired about baby 1011 on Adopting.com.

Natalya (Leah)- our 3rd referral came to us in early May of 06 after Amy returned to the USA

As I stated above I asked Orson Mozes about this baby after seeing her on Adopting.com. Somehow I knew she would be our daughter. She was 12 months old in the referral photos and she shares her birth date with my mother.
Our dossier had been in Kazakhstan for close to 3 weeks and we were hoping for a LOI soon.
Orson tried to talk me out of this child stating she was to "old and didn't have blond hair and blue eyes". I was shocked to think Orson thought these were the reasons for choosing the referrals we had. That couldn't have been farther from the truth, so I insisted on baby 1011. Orson was hesitant but complied and sent us baby 1011 referral photos and medical card. He then removed her photo from the Internet and promised again she would be ours. Orson went on to blame the incountry staff for both losses, and went so far to say they felt so badly for what had happened to us that they would make sure 1011 would be ours. Again my heart became attached. On a logical level I tried to remain detached, however emotion won out again. I felt foolish but I began to love her also.
When Orson called in mid June and told us we had our LOI and we should make plans to travel we were so excited. The ups and downs of our journey suddenly seemed so distant. I called the Assistant Stork to help with our VISAS and made airline reservations thru Eldo at Golden Rule Travel. We were set to leave on June 20, 2006. We were finally going to meet our daughter.
On June 17th Orson called again and this time told us we had to change our travel dates to July as the person who handles the adoptions at that baby house was on vacation and wouldn't be back till July 10th. This last lie really did me in. Now I was just going through the motions, and to make matters worse there was a 150.00$ charge to change our outbound flights. We had no choice but to bite our tongues and ride this journey out.
Candy who had since returned from Uralsk, Kazakhstan with a beautiful daughter after a nightmare of a trip, was instrumental in keeping me focused. It is in large part because of her I was able to keep my anger and frustration in check. I really wanted to lash out at Orson for all the lies and pain he had inflicted on us. A few short minutes on the phone with Candy helped renew my hope and strengthen my resolve. Adoptions were happening just not the way Orson had described.

Olga-our 4th referral came to us on July 10, the night before we were to depart JFK for Kazakhstan. I was driving to the store for last minute items to bring to Ust.

When my cell phone went off and I saw Orson's name, I just knew the pain was going to start all over again. This call was brief and stoic. Orson began with "she's gone" Ann. I have sent another referral who you will love. I explained to Orson that each phone call from him is so painful, and that I was driving now and having difficulty seeing through my tears. His last words before I hung up were to check my computer when I got home.
Upon arriving home, Chris and Christopher read my face and knew. What happened now? I explained what Orson had said. It was at this moment I realized that faces in photos really didnt matter, our hearts were ready to love any child. Olga was adorable as were the other three, but God was in control and had sustained us all thus far. We just had to wait for HIS plan to be revealed.
A last call to Orson from JFK Airport just before boarding drove this point home as Orson told me "I dont know whats going on over there, or what child you will get".

Walking into that baby house on July 14, 2006 was the culmination of an almost unbelievable journey of the heart. We did not know what child God had planned for us, but what we did know was the child presented to us would be loved unconditionally. This moment would define our International Adoption leap of faith.

When Leah, baby 1011 was brought into the directors office we experienced fully our miracle as it was unfolding. The gasp and spontaneous tears of joy from our son, partially camouflaged our own intense emotions. All we had been through was quickly erased,(much like the pain of natural child birth once infant is presented to mother) when they placed Leah into our arms. GOD's plan and timing was perfect.

In hind sight as I rewrite our story I realize that at this point I had yet to learn the real truth about the adoption process in Kazakhstan as it related to our experience. This education would come after spending close to a month in country and making friends with the in country staff who assisted us with our adoption. As we develope a relationship with Almagul and Sveta innocently they share with us their perceptions of what had transpired with all of our referrals. From the how and why we lost Natalia, to the agency that represented the Irish couple who adopted Marina, to the facts that Leah had been refused by 3 other families including one who had been visiting Leah just before we arrived, and finally the fact that Olga was never available for adoption at the time Orson sent her referral photo to us.
This information took some time to process as it became available and I will talk about it more in a future post.
For now I just wanted to recap and give some insight into where we were emotionally the day we met our daughter.

7/14/2006 (Original Post in Real Time)
Destination Ust Kamenogorsk
We arrived right on time in Ust Kamenogorsk. The flights were not as long as we had anticipated. At both airports AIP staff was there on time to greet us and take us to our apartment. We were given the times they would be back to pick us up and they were there on time. After arriving in Ust at 9:30am the AIP staff collected our baggage and drove us to the apartment to unload the luggage and freshen up.

the elevator
our apartment buildng

Sveta and Bulat our translator and driver
came back at 1:45 to pick us up and off to the baby house we went.
We were met there by Alma our adoption coordinator and were taken in to the baby house to meet with the Director. Upon entering the baby house we observed the cleanliness and felt welcomed. We were interviewed by the Head Physician and a women from the Dept of Education. We were asked what type child we were looking for, questions about us and why we chose Kazakhstan. After answering their questions the physician turned her questions to Christopher. We were so proud of the way he looked directly at her when she spoke and his answers were understood even without translation. She wanted to know if he too wanted a baby sister and would he object to sharing our attention with this young child.His English answer was an immediate YES I AM with a hugh smile. As Christopher has a warm wonderful smile I believe as they made eye contact she could see right into his heart and palpate the sincerity she found there.
After the questions, we were told they had identified a baby that they thought would be good for us and her care giver walked her in. We were 7 people sitting in an office and she walked in curious and confident. As she entered I was wishing I had 46 eyes to see everyones face. I looked at her then at Christopher who had filled up with happy tears then at Chris then back to her. She looked at everyone and the caregiver brought her immediately to me. We had brought a yellow duck puzzle book and Christopher and I enticed her with it. Within minutes of me taking her from the care giver, after a 30 sec fuss she was engaged. I don’t think she new weather she wanted to look at the book or Christopher. We got on the floor and under the watchful eyes of these officials from Kazakhstan we began our relationship with our daughter. She babbled, walked , pointed,played with the puzzle book and looked all around. After we were told of the visiting requirement of 10-12 and 4-6 everyday twice a day for 14 days it was time to leave. I had picked her up and gave her a kiss. She in turn leaned over to kiss her brother. Talk about a defining moment. The time we spent in that office though brief contains memories that will last a lifetime . The word that we use to describe this day is JOY.

AMERICAS MOST WANTED..Air Date 1/3/08 at 9/8C on FOX *** 12/14/08 Air date has changed will post new date when we are notified

2008-12-10T05:47:00.000-08:00

AMW has completed the segment on fugitive Orson Mozes. The air date is January 3, 2009 at 9/8C on FOX.

http://www.amw.com/fugitives/brief.cfm?id=56499

Many of the families presently represented by Joni Fixel in a law suit filed against Orson Mozes and Christian Brown (owners of AIP) have contributed to this segment. In the reliving and the public sharing of our emotionally devastating experiences, we are hoping this exposure will aid in the capture and arrest of Orson Mozes.
Having our day in court, and seeing Orson Mozes held accountable for the crimes he perpetrated on innocent unsuspecting adoptive parents is our goal.
International Adoption needs to be protected from greedy,ruthless people who prey on innocent people with a desire to open their hearts and lives to orphans.
For this reason I applaud AMW for taking up our cause, and I am proud to be part of a group of people who have taken a stand and spoken out against the immoral,illegal and unethical practices of AIP and its owners. Our success in court will send a very loud message to adoption agencies here in the USA that greed and illegal practices can and will be prosecuted to the full extend of the law.

And now back to my rewind........

Its dawn in Almaty July 14, 2006

2008-10-24T07:14:00.000-07:00

Our driver, and Bulgan our translator wish us good night after helping us up six flights of stairs with our luggage into the apt in which we will spend the next few hours. After they depart we close and lock the door, the apt is quiet. It's 2:30 am. We are all in need of showers. So Christopher is elected to go first and instructed to be quick. As he is showering, Chris and I have a few moments to talk without having to censor our words. After being married for 18 years, words sometimes aren't necessary. Privately now as we look into each others eyes the anxiety present is evident, yet the strength of our love serves to quell our fears. We talk about the events of our day and together we realize our dream is about to come true. The journey which began many months ago is on track. We are sitting together in a foreign country,in a strangers apt at 2:30 am trusting another stranger will be back to pick us up after giving another stranger 5000.00$ in brand new 100.00 dollar bills. It is almost surreal to believe that we are on the way to a baby house half way around the world, in a country and culture vastly different from what we have known, to adopt our daughter. The first few hours and introduction to this culture were extreme examples of those very differences. Our experiences so far enlightened us to just how naive we Americans are. One is never so isolated and vulnerable until you cannot speak the language or be protected by the Constitution.
Our saving grace was our faith in God, and just knowing we were exactly where he wanted us to be at this very moment.
Realizing and accepting our vulnerability, coupled with knowing AIP didn't have a glowing reputation of late, we planned on keeping a very low profile and quiet demeanor while in country no matter what.
After Christopher said goodnight, Chris and I took quick showers as it was now 3am Almaty time and the driver is due back by 6am. Our flight to Ust Kamenogorsk departs at 7:20am.
Oh the calming effects of a much needed shower, I am last to hop in. As the warmth of the water meets flesh, a catharsis of emotional cleansing takes place promoting anticipation of a new day. I remain pensive and prayerful as I allow myself to unwind. I emerge from the shower renewed and refreshed. A peacefulness takes place as I witness my husband and child in restful sleep. In preparation of an early departure, I make sure everything is repacked and ready to go in a moments notice. I then drift to sleep.
Like clock work Chris is up before dawn, dressed, teeth brushed hair combed and ready to go. So we hurry up and wait. We wonder if our driver will return. Almost to the moment we verbalize our doubt, right on schedule the driver arrives 5:45am.

The Apt in morning light

Kazakhstan at first light

Again we are helped with our baggage down 6 flights of stairs. Its as if we never arrived to begin with. In at 2:30am out by 5:45am. Never saw or spoke to a soul.
Once in the parking lot, and as the sun is rising we can now see Kazakhstan and the beauty of her snow covered mountains. The apartment building is like no other we have ever seen, never having been out of the USA. To our eyes the building looks pre war and run down. Having arrived in the dead of night, our first impressions became our last as we departed for the airport.
Before entering the car, the driver handed me a package the size of a CD wrapped and sealed with packing tape. His instruction in broken English " you take to Ust". I vaguely remember Bulgan telling us last night we would be given documents to carry to Ust Kamenogorsk. This package did not however, look like documents. Chris and I immediately made eye contact, and the nonverbal communication was clear. Red flags waving. Knowing the driver didn't speak or understand English that well, as we were getting into the car I said to Chris (the Laurel and Hardy line) "this is another fine mess you got us into". I was able to communicate we would fix the mess after we got to the airport. Again eye contact acknowledged Chris understood the message. Until then I held the package on my lap and devised a plan while looking at Kazakhstan for the first time in daylight. Obviously Chris and I were on the same page with not wanting to carry a sealed package onto an airplane in a foreign country. So my immediate thought was to wait to refuse the package until we were at the airport, out of the car with baggage in hand. This airport could take us home if need be but, we had to get there first.
Quietly we rode for 30 minutes. Idol chit chat about the landscape and what we could remember seeing last night took place between us. Our assumptions were correct, the driver spoke only Russian so attempts at communication with him failed.
Upon arrival at the airport as I exited the car, I conveniently left the package on the console in hopes I could innocently forget "the package". After all the luggage was out of the car and we said our thank you's, we were preparing to walk towards the entrance to the airport when the driver called out and began walking towards us waving "the package" saying "to Ust to Ust". Damn! I guess we have to revert to plan B, which I know will be difficult because of the language barrier.
So with my best Russian accent I say NYET (no). Then I motion with my hands NYET (no) see into package NYET (No) "to Ust". Somehow he understood and communicated he would park the car, make a phone call and be back. He wanted us to wait. In these few tense moments alone, together we discussed plan B. Being we were at the airport already we were pretty safe. So when the driver returned our plan was no public loud discussions, we weren't taking a sealed package period. He would either open it and reveal its contents or it was not going with us. Everyone understood so if a confrontation was evident we would just walk away and into the airport.
The driver returned with "the package". Only now it was opened and inside was 2000.00$ in brand new 100.00 bills. The documents we were to carry was American dollars. The same dollars we carried to Almaty only less of them. What a relief. Our journey now would definitely continue onto Ust Kamenogorsk where our daughter would be waiting.
Upon seeing our relief and acceptance of "the opened package" the driver also looked relieved. He helped us into the airport, and though the security check point. Upon x-raying our baggage the guard wanted to see something inside the luggage so we opened the luggage and had to explain why we had tools and screening material inside. Because we didn't speak Russian, and they didn't speak English, frustration and a physical observation of the tools and screening material pushed us through. We gave our driver a tip for his efforts and again said our good bye's. We boarded the plane bound for Ust Kamenogorsk...

Happy Birthday Natalia

2008-10-20T05:35:00.000-07:00

October 20th will always be a special day. A day of reflection.
Just as the season was changing and fall leaves were bursting with color, so was my heart bursting with love for a baby girl who's tiny bald head and sad blue eyes were captured on a referral photograph and etched into my soul. For 6 months this baby girl, along with my son had become the center of my world.
I love this innocent baby with all my heart.
As Gods plan began to be revealed in our adoption journey, miracles and unanswered prayers simultaneously took place. Painful life lessons that tested my faith also opened my heart. As we celebrated Natalia's first birthday in that restaurant that day,

little did we know Natalia celebrated her first birthday in arms of parents whom God had chosen for her. Natalia was now surrounded by unconditional love for the first time in her young life.
It was at this very moment, when I saw her birthday photo almost a month later, I learned humility. Although my heart was aching at my loss, through my pain I was blessed to be able to recognize God at work in my life and the miracle that had taken place. Natalia and her needs were what was important. The miracle of a family being born of Gods will was deserving of sincere celebration and praise.
I am so grateful to God for allowing us to witness Natalia's miracle. Just knowing Natalia had a family to make her feel special and loved helped ease our pain.
We believe God placed Natalia in our lives not only to love and pray for her, but to lead us to our miracle, Leah Natalya Young.
Happy Birthday Natalia, you and your family remain always in our thoughts and prayers......

MIDNIGHT ALMATY KAZAKHSTAN

2008-09-26T05:50:00.000-07:00

Twenty two hours have passed since we left home to travel to Ust Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan to adopt our daughter. The flights and lay overs were long and we are all exhausted. We landed in darkness, which only compounded our disorientation. We deplane into an airport where we cannot understand any of the spoken word, nor read any signage. So we follow the crowd. We must clear customs and hopefully we are heading in the right direction. We wait in line and listen to the language being spoken. We feel very vulnerable, and the reality of where we are, takes hold. As we speak to each other, people stare at us. We are foreigners and it is very obvious. To say we are extremely intimidated is an understatement. As we are next in line we approach the booth. The staff begin to speak to us as if we will understand them. Their requests are repeated only now with an increase in volume, as if this will make us understand. I hand them our passports and speak in English. I hope for the best. Our pictures are taken and documents are reviewed and stamped. Now they just point in the direction they want us to walk. We cleared customs and are on the way to baggage. I ponder how we will recognize the people who are supposed to be there picking us up. What if they are "no longer available either". Fear and anxiety are at an all time high. We collect our luggage and again follow the crowd. Relief at last as I recognize a sign. Youngs..... Our driver and translator are here....
I can calm down some what. So far so good. We approach, we shake hands and introduce our selves. Bulgan our translator is a pretty Kazak lady with a warm smile and reassuring eyes. She explains we will be going to an apt for a few hours of rest, and they will return in the morning to get us back to the airport for the flight to Ust Kamenogorsk. We exit the airport building and walk thru the dark parking lot to a small compact car. We are 5 people and 3 huge suitcases. We will make it work.
Upon entering the car an older women is sitting in the front seat which is covered in a faux leopard skin seat cover, and there are danglings from the rear view mirror the likes of which would be seen in a bad movie. She is there to collect the final payment for our accommodations while in Ust Kamenogorsk. The crisp NEW one hundred dollar bills. Fifty five hundred to be exact. Anxiety and fear come rushing back. Is this really how business is conducted in Kazakhstan after all of the formal background and character checks we had been subjected to in the preceding months. Hand over alot of money in a dark parking lot in the middle of the night to an old women we have never met. We comply. She counts the money we had already counted numerous times before even leaving our driveway, which now is so far away. She speaks to us and we look to Bulgan for a translation. Bulgan relates that the money is wrong. The old woman says 500.00$ more. My heart rate quickens and I scramble in my mind for an exit plan. We are already at the airport we can just turn around and go home. I stand my ground and tell the old women NO! Money is right. Bulgan translates. She (the old women) makes a call to Nigmat, her son. Bulgan tell us she is calling him. We wait. Christopher watching our every move. I wonder if he can feel our anxiety as I motion to him to remain silent. A loud conversation in Russian occurs and then the phone is handed to me. Nigmat says 500.00$ more is owed. I again hold my ground. I tell him No! He should call Orson. We have paid the entire fee already except for our accommodations. He continues to argue with me. I tell him we will return to the USA, there will be no more money, and I hand the phone back to the old women. She in turn has a brief conversation with Nigmat and then speaks to Bulgan. Bulgan then turns to us and relates, all is fine. We can go now to the apt.
The old lady walks away into the night and we proceed to leave the parking lot. Surreal events to a long day or wait, is it night.
The ride to the apt is quiet as we try to recover our composure. Anxiety and fear have now joined us on our journey and will remain there always lurking in our consciousness. Almaty is very dark at midnight however Bulgan was able to reassure us that all would be alright. She then went on to say she would not be back in the morning if that would be OK with us as she had another job and was only doing this last translation for AIP as a favor because she no longer worked for them. She assured us the driver would be back at 6am to pick us up. We really had no choice but to trust her. The ride to the apt seemed like forever. We arrived by 1:30 am and were helped into the apt. Bulgan again asked if it would be ok if she didnt return in the morning. We said ok, as all we were going to do was go back to the airport and get on another plane. We thought we could handle that. She was sincere in her caring and this was evident when she gave us her cell phone number with the understanding we could call her if we needed her. Little did we know how important her number would be to us later on in our journey....

A challange to a post about the Government of Kazakhstan and Embassy Officials

2008-09-16T08:47:00.000-07:00

Below is a portion of a post from:
http://quest2kaz.blogspot.com/

"Regarding Stephen and his brother (and the Kazak Embassy): If you adopted from Kaz and you only want to hear nice things about the country, please stop reading at this point. Joe and I feel nothing but disgust for all of the people in Kazakhstan that we dealt with throughout our adoption (with the caregivers and our drivers being the only exceptions.) The people we have dealt with have been apathetic and downright cruel. We resent that they asked us to meet with them in July and tore open the scab that was forming over our hearts by telling us the boys are available and that they were going to do "everything possible" to help us adopt them. I nearly cancelled our IVF procedure and thank God that in the end we did not.

Almat (Head of the Consular Section), as you saw from the e-mails I posted, barely answered our questions and recently his help - that was supposed to be "everything possible" - in reality - turned into giving us a contact person who could help us with the adoption. We did not need a contact person - we needed a swift acting Embassy official to insure our safety and complete this adoption a.s.a.p. so these boys could have a chance at life. Sadly, the Embassy had no intention of offering any "substantial" assistance and only proved my first assumption correct: It was all just lip service. Now, they can say "We met with the De Lorenzo's and offered assistance." They can use this quote to answer any reporters who question why they did not step up to the plate. Every single one of the people we dealt with, who had it within their power to help and didn't, make us sick to our stomachs.

Some people say "Oh, you can only blame Orson Mozes and his wife who is the co-owner and Executive Director and nobody else." Orson and Christen are, of course, the only reason we were in this mess to begin with. However, there are many who could have, and should have, helped to make things right once it was apparent that Orson was working with corrupt people on the Kazak end. It is outrageous that Nigmat is still abusing people and that Dr. Natalia, the Director of the Baby House - as well as Almagul are all still going about their evil business while the Embassy is FULLY AWARE of what they are doing! It is shameful. Lastly, I think it needs to be made very CLEAR to PAPs that Heritage Adoptions is using Nigmat. I am sure other agencies are as well, but Heritage is the one I know for sure is using him. BE VERY WEARY!"

I start this post out with my most sincere thanks to God for the miracle of pregnancy God has granted to Dawn and Joe. After all the pain they have suffered on their journey to become parents, their prayers are soon to be answered with the birth of their first child this coming May. Congratulations and may the pain you experienced on your adoption journey be replaced with the lifetime of joy that awaits you both in May.
While Dawn and I have had numerous conversations over the past year or so, I don’t think she will be surprised to read a response to her most recent post on this blog. Dawn and I definitely have a difference of opinion about the government of Kazakhstan and the above post as far as I am concerned cannot go unchallenged, although I do understand Dawn does have a right to her opinion.
Being all comments must be approved by Dawn on her blog, I felt compelled to comment here on my blog. While I do not accept any anonymous comments, I will allow opinions here but not attacks.
I can and do empathize with the absolute agony Dawn and Joe experienced while attempting to adopt from Kazakhstan thru Adoption International Program which was owned and operated by Orson Mozes and Christian Brown.
It is my opinion that Dawn and Joe were victims, as were many others, of an unethical adoption agency who engaged in illegal practices here in the USA.
The government of Kazakhstan is not however, in the adoption business. Thankfully they are gracious enough to allow foreigners to adopt their children. For this I will be forever grateful, and stand vigilant to protect Kazakhstan against what I believe is a biased attack on her government and embassy officials with regards to their role in this issue.
For what its worth, the following is my opinion.
Orson Mozes, Christian Brown and AIP are solely responsible for the reprehensible experience Dawn and Joe suffered through attempting to adopt a child from Kazakhstan. However Joe and Dawn freely chose AIP and did not consult with the Kazakhstan government before signing that contract and paying the fee’s AIP charged both in the USA and in country. Kazakhstan and the Embassy should not be held accountable for one's poor choice of an adoption agency here in the USA.
The laws governing adoption in Kazakhstan are and were in place. They are specific and clear. The government of Kazakhstan has the responsibility to uphold their laws and it is my opinion that is exactly what they did with regards to the child, and children Dawn and Joe attempted to adopt.
I do not feel it is, or was the Kazakhstan’s government’s responsibility to correct the wrongs done to Dawn and Joe by AIP and their staff.
However the government of Kazakhstan did as a country, listen to Dawn and Joe’s issues, investigated their claims, and took positive steps to assist Dawn and Joe attempt to complete their adoption. By Dawns own admission Almat provided them with a contact person, and they were told their “boys” were still there and available for adoption. This information alone is more than any PAP gets from the Kazakhstan Government (Embassy) when attempting to adopt a child.
Again this is my opinion but the guarantee Dawn and Joe were looking for, they did receive from the Kazakhstan government in the form of the above information, and the name of a contact person provided by the government. International Adoption is by nature a leap of faith, knowing and having communication with Embassy Officials would have for me, made that leap a bit easier and crystal clear.
Slamming the government of Kazakhstan, Embassy Officials and Dr Natalia because of the actions and greed of AIP and it's in country staff is irresponsible, and unreasonable in my opinion. We the victims of AIP were lead to believe that the photo listed children we paid agency fee's to hold would be our children. WE signed contracts because we were given fraudulent information from AIP with assurances that conflicted with Kazakhstan law. Again this was not Kazakhstan or the Embassy Officials fault.
Dr Natalia lives in Kazakhstan and runs a baby house with limited resources. Her life, from what I saw first hand is devoted to the care of orphans. While I do not profess to know how she conducts business, I would venture to say that Dawn is not privy to that information either, and merely is stating her perception of her unique experience.
In closing, after my bittersweet experience of adopting from Kazakhstan through AIP, I will forever be grateful to this government for allowing the International Adoptions of her children. Kazakhstan laws governing adoption are fair and just.
The government did listen to, investigate and respond to Dawn and Joe’s issues. They have taken positive steps in an attempt to protect future PAP by regulating agencies and in country staff who are conducting the business of adoption. For this, future PAP owe Dawn and Joe a debt of gratitude. Because of their persistence the government of Kazakhstan set goals to insure a more transparent process which will better protect all involved in International Adoption.
In closing I pray in time Dawn and Joe find peace in knowing the pain they suffered was not in vain, as the new regulations promote and protect International Adoption from Kazakhstan.

And now back to the rewind... We Boarded that Flight

2008-07-25T05:49:00.000-07:00

With Chris's confidence we boarded our flight some seven and a half hours after saying that prayer in our driveway. We were finally on our way. Germany, Almaty, Ust Kamenogorsk here we come...

(photos taken at JFK)
The flight to Germany was long, and the realization that we were leaving the USA hit hard when all communications from the pilot and flight crew were first given in German and then the English translation followed. This was our first flight over seas, each moment and experience an adventure. Until now we didn't factor in the anxiety we would experience not being able to understand or speak the language. A humbling experience to say the least.
We settled into the small uncomfortable seats, and eventually sleep came. After arriving in Germany, and a 3 hour layover we boarded the next flight to Almaty which would land at midnight Almaty time.
As we spent many hours on the plane, I continued to journal to a child who's face had changed 4 times in 14 months and now was replaced with a blur of total uncertainty. This was the epitome of blind faith. As the hours passed and the barrage of thoughts continued to inhabit my consciousness, just as a storm ravaged ocean churns, when the storm passes and waters calm, clarity emerges. During our flights to Ust Kamenogorsk the clarity that emerged for me was, we had weathered our storm, and the love in my heart was prepared to love what ever child would be presented to us.
My journal began the year before, as my first gift to my daughter. I wanted her to have a sense of who I was, and how I felt about her before she entered my life. Because she was adopted I wanted her to have a glimpse into what the journey to her had entailed. The only way I knew to convey these emotions and events were to keep a journal. I prayed my words, which would be read by my daughter many years after they were written, would be a comfort to her when, intellect collides with emotions as she ponders her life story.
Today as I re read my journal entries written just 2 years ago, and I relive each twist, and turn, and tear that culminated into great joy, the journal itself documents Gods presence throughout our journey and just how miraculous his blessings are. We all, including our daughter came to experience how relinquishing control, and accepting Gods plan in faith, sustains you during some of the most painful moments of loss and profound uncertainty.

Next stop Almaty Kazakhstan at midnight.....

The elephant in the room

2008-07-24T05:03:00.000-07:00

Before the TV segment about Orson Mozes and AIP air's on AMW, we just wanted to let all who are following this blog be aware, we did submit to the shows producer alot of video and still photo's we have that tell our adoption story. Aside from video's and photos of our family, we included all 4 referral photos and video Orson sent to us of baby 749 (our first referral). We also submitted the investigative report done by Sarah Wallace,(which can be found on this blog in an earlier post) and both of our blog addresses. We have no idea what the producers will or will not use, or how they are going to develop the story line.
Accusations of exploitation were posted online by the Sapp's on their blog after the investigative report aired, and it is our opinion, while these accusations were directed at us and Sarah Wallace, the true culprit was Orson Mozes. The Sapp family in our opinion, were also victims of Orson Mozes and his bait and switch practices. We were always supportive of the Sapp's during their adoption of baby 749, as you have come to see and read about in this blog. Unfortunately as our story is truthfully told in its entirety and the evidence presented, the Sapp's are very much a part of our story. There is no way around it.
So, in preparation of even bigger TV exposure we again reiterate, we are telling our story in an effort to help bring to justice Orson Mozes, the man who perpetrated these crimes against us, and many innocent adoptive parents. While uncomfortable for some, we believe it our moral responsibility to see justice served. Both the Sapp and the Young families, by the grace of God, and in spite of Orson Mozes experienced miracles and adopted the children God planned for us.
Many other AIP clients did not. It is for these families, we chose to go public. If and when Orson Mozes is brought to justice, a very loud message will be sent to the adoption community, that in the USA, illegal adoption practices will not be tolerated. Adoptive parents who join hands, bear witness, and fight corruption have a powerful voice.
Our ultimate goal is to set a precedent in the courtroom to protect future perspective parents from the types of crimes perpetrated by Orson Mozes.

America's Most Wanted

2008-07-16T11:04:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post with some news.
I have just received word that the Executive Producer of America's Most Wanted has approved a segment to be televised on Orson Mozes.
The world just got a whole lot smaller for Orson as he is a fugitive right now.
When I have an aire date I will post it here.
I am sure it will take a few months to put together but many of Orson's victims are working together with the producer on this project to see that justice is served.
We all are looking to the day that Orson Mozes and AIP are held accountable.

Below is just a portion of the message Robert Brown AMW Producer posted on the Stop Orson Mozes Yahoo Board. If anyone reading this blog has anything to contribute you can either email me, or go directly to AMW.Com with your information.

"I just wanted to let everyone here know that after speaking with my
Executive Producer yesterday, the Orson Mozes fugitive segment has
been approved for production...which is great news!! My hope is to
have something for sweeps in November and there's early talk of
doing some kind of re-enactment to build Orson's evil backstory."

July 11, 2008 Both Blogs Meet

2008-07-05T13:05:00.000-07:00

Below is the post from our first blog written the night before we left NY for Kazakhstan. Our excitement and hope are what we chose to cling to and share online. What we didn't reveal, was the content of a phone call I received from Orson Mozes while running last minute errands before our departure.
No, he wasn't calling with last minute instructions and congratulatory words to send us off. The message he delivered, and the tone in which he delivered it, quelled our excitement and again tested our faith. We were now at strike three. Orson informed me that baby 1011 our third referral, was no longer available. I had to pull off the road because the tears were blinding. The stress, the disappointment and the impending departure just 24 hours later to a place halfway around the world to adopt a child who's face had changed 3 times in a matter of 14 months began to take its toll. I entertained just giving up, and ending this emotional limbo we had been living in. I couldn't help but tell Orson that seeing his name on my caller ID always caused an immediate wave of extreme anxiety. He half chuckled, and said but Ann when you get home look on your computer, I sent another equally beautiful girl. Call me after you see her, you will be happy. Trust me.
Trust him. Isn't that what got us here to begin with? I felt completely responsible for this roller coaster of a ride we were all on, and thoughts of an unhappy ending loomed big. I became emotionally overwhelmed to the point I told Orson I had to go, and for the first time I didn't thank him as I hung up the phone.
When I arrived home and entered the house, Chris and Christopher took one look at me and their excitement turned immediately to concern. Mom whats wrong? Ann what's up? My heart broke yet again to deliver for the third time, the news. She's gone. Orson called. She's no longer available. There was silence. A brief silence, until Christopher asked "so what happens now?" Well, Orson said to check the computer as he sent another referral. I just don't think we should get our hopes up. I am really afraid this is not going to end well. My husband said "we have come this far, lets just see it through". Go check the computer.
So together we looked at referral number 4. Orson was right, she was a beautiful little girl

but I was none the less very sad. My confidence shaky and my faith faltering.
Chris and Christopher appeared less affected by this latest loss as we did discuss at length since losing Natalia, that we wouldn't fall in love with a picture again. We would wait for the child in the flesh. To me, that advise sounded all fine and good but, I just couldn't do it. I fell in love with all 3 and I was sure, so had they. I think they wanted to appear strong for my sake. So back to packing we went, although silently I continued to have huge reservations about even getting on that plane.
Sleep for me, was difficult that night. I couldn't shake the feeling that we were in the scam of our lives, and we were continuing on a journey that so far felt more like a night mare than the miracle we anticipated when Orson told us "I can hold this child for you". I tossed and turned and listened to Chris snore. I was thankful to God for the man I called my husband. If I had to be in the scam of my life I was glad to be sharing it with him, because no matter what happened we would survive.
We were up at dawn and the excitement began anew, just as it had when we first accepted Natalia into our hearts. We were going to Kazakhstan to meet our daughter.
So with bags packed, tickets/documents in hand and 7000.00 dollars in brand new bills divided between us in money belts, we entered the town car that would be taking us to JFK for a 9pm flight.
As we do with all trips, prior to leaving the driveway we joined hands and prayed. We asked God to guide us on this journey, to keep us safe and give us the grace to accept his plan no matter what that may be. In Jesus name Amen. We turned to the driver and said OK we can go now.
The ride to the airport lasted an hour. Its amazing how conversation jumps around when everyone is excited beyond belief. We did manage not to forget anything.
Unfortunately I packed so well it cost an additional 75 dollars to check the bags. We would be lighter on the return trip because in the suit cases were gifts I bought to give to whom ever we met along the journey to our daughter, who touched our hearts.
After check in, we learned there would be a 2 hour delay. So we perused the airport and found a place to have dinner and celebrate our trip so far.
After dinner and just before boarding, I decided to call Orson one last time. I just needed to know if there were any new developments, so with trembling hands I dialed his number. When he answered right away I wanted to hang up. He must have said hello 2-3 times before I spoke.
Orson it's Ann. We are at JFK just about to board our flight. I wanted to check to see if anything had changed since yesterday.
There was an awkward silence.
"Ann I don't know what is going on over there".
"Orson what does that mean". "Is there a child there for us?"
"Ann I am not sure what child you will get".
Great. Thanks again Orson. I hung up.
I told Chris what Orson said. Then I said "Chris I think maybe we should pull the plug". I am not very confident. I don't mind losing the time and the money but you having to give up your racing and a shot at the championship for a scam is to much for me to handle."
To this day I will never forget Chris's response.
"Ann our daughter is there. We are going."

7/11/2006
Twas the night before Christmas
In our home tonight we feel a celebration beginning. Our miracle is starting to unfold. Our family and friends are acutely aware that something wonderful is about to happen and we feel the presence of God because of their love and support for us.
I headed this post Twas the night before Christmas because the excitement and joy we are experiencing tonight is much like that of child on Christmas Eve.
It truly is by the grace of God that we will be blessed with a precious gift, our daughter. Our prayer is to be worthy of this precious gift. We have been waiting for 14 months for this moment and we know our lives will be forever changed because of an innocent child. We want to share this joy with those who are following our journey via this blog.
Our flight is tomorrow and we will be in Ust Kamenogorsk by Thursday. I will try and post as often as possible.
To those who have gone before us : Chris and Michelle, Steve and Terry, Amy and Anthony, Candy, Jason and Melissa, Tim and Nell, John and Dotty and Marc and Pam. We thank you all for sharing your experiences with us thru your blogs. You have provided the light to guide us on this journey and we will be forever grateful. Although we have never met each of you have become a part of our adoption miracle.

We applaud the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan

2008-06-28T10:26:00.000-07:00

Below is a bulletin released by the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the United States.
It is my opinion that because of the resolve of many former AIP clients, and other victims of unscrupulous adoption agencies, the Embassy has embraced the need for change. In an effort to make the international adoption process from Kazakhstan transparent, the Embassy has briefly outlined in this bulletin the steps they will be putting in place to facilitate change. Having experienced some of the painful effects of an unscrupulous agency, I wanted to applaud and support the Embassy's efforts at adoption reform. Steps defined in this bulletin when implemented, will serve to promote international adoption and protect orphans and the perspective adoptive parents who open their hearts to them.
I felt it my responsibility to support these efforts and below is the email I sent the Embassy expressing that support. I have also posted the Embassy's response to my email.
If you are reading this blog and have adopted from Kazakhstan please, join me and many other adoptive parents in supporting the Embassy's efforts at adoption reform. Contact email addresses and phone numbers can be found in the bulletin. Take a moment and communicate your opinions and suggestions. We can all be a part of, and participate in the adoption reform solution.

----------------------------------------------------------

Kazakhstan

News Bulletin

Released by the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the United States
of America

1401 16 Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036

Tel.: (202)232-5488 Fax: (202)232-5845

E-mail: washington@kazakhembus.com

Web-site: www.kazakhembus.com

Special Issue No 7, June 20, 2008

Information Note

on international adoption from Kazakhstan

The Government of Kazakhstan is committed to monitoring the process of
international adoption in Kazakhstan as well as keeping a close eye on the
living conditions of adopted Kazakh children abroad. Kazakhstan considers
adoption to be one of the best forms of tutelage for children who for any
reason lack parental care, although the priority is given to biological
parents or, in their absence, to child's relatives. If a child cannot be
adopted by its relatives, adoption by Kazakhstan citizens is the next
preferred option. And if that is also not possible, only then can a Kazakh
child be adopted by foreign families.

As the economic well-being in Kazakhstan continues to grow, the number of
domestic adoptions in the country is increasing, whereas the number of
international adoptions is falling correspondingly.

Since the Marriage and Family Code was enacted in 1999, 30,184 children
have been adopted in Kazakhstan; of that number 23,012 children have been
adopted by Kazakhstan citizens, 6,791 by foreign citizens and 281 by
relatives from abroad.

The United States is by far the most popular destination for adopted
children from Kazakhstan (in 2000-2007 American families adopted more than
5,000 Kazakh kids, with highest number of US adoptions in 2004). In 2007
Embassy of Kazakhstan to the US registered 515 American families intending
to adopt Kazakh children.

The Consular Section of the Embassy of Kazakhstan closely monitors the
international adoption in Kazakhstan by US citizens as well as the living
conditions of Kazakh kids.

The step-by-step process of international adoption in Kazakhstan is
briefly as follows:

Future parents wishing to adopt a Kazakh child contract with a duly
licensed agency to collect all the required documents and prepare a
dossier which should be submitted to the Consular Section of the Embassy
of Kazakhstan. Having checked and verified all the documents (which takes
up to one month) the Embassy sends the dossier to the Foreign Ministry
where the processing procedures also last for about a month. Afterwards,
the dossier goes to the Education Ministry which, after another month-long
procedure, passes it to proper regional agencies (Education Departments
and orphanages) and their review of the dossier takes up to one month.
Having received a positive feedback from the regional agencies the Embassy
issues a special visa for parents-to-be (visa category - private, purpose
of travel - adoption). Such a visa can be issued only by invitation of
Kazakhstan's Education Ministry or a regional Education Department.
Traveling to Kazakhstan for adoption purposes with any other kind of visa
(e.g. tourist, business) is strictly prohibited.

All in all, processing of a dossier in proper Kazakh agencies can take up
to 5 months. In Kazakhstan, prospective adoptive parents must personally
choose their future child and spend at least two weeks with him/her to get
to know each other closer and learn the child's personality and habits.

The final decision on adoption of a child is then taken by a Kazakh court
based on the application submitted by the prospective parents. Adoption
cases are considered by courts on an ad hoc basis in accordance with
Kazakhstan's civil procedural law.

After a proper court order is issued, a registrar's office and migration
police issue the adoption and birth certificates and a Kazakh passport for
the adopted child.

Fees payable to Kazakh agencies in the course of the adoption process are
as follows:

The Consular Section of the Embassy charges up to $180 per dossier for
consular registration (issuing a certificate to confirm registration,
attesting translation and documents in the dossier). State agencies in
Kazakhstan charge no fee for dossier processing. There could be some
expenses for issuing the power of attorney for the parents' representative
in Kazakhstan; consular fee for a new passport for the adopted child as
well as the registration fee at the Consular Department of the Foreign
Ministry (all in all, about 12,000 tenges or $100). Besides, there are
also some legal expenses related to court proceedings, which are quite
reasonable. Parents may make a voluntary financial donation to the
orphanage if they choose to do so.

One of the main principles of adoption in Kazakhstan is the protection of
the rights and interests of both adopted children and adopting parents.
Kazakhstan recognizes the important role played in the adoption process by
such facilitators as duly licensed adoption agencies, but firmly believes
that these agencies have no right to make commercial profit through the
genuinely noble and humane process of adoption.

According to Kazakh legislation, to adopt a child, foreign citizens are
allowed to work with a representative (coordinator) in Kazakhstan, whose
rights and obligations are defined by Kazakh laws.

Our review of the current system of adoption of Kazakh children by
American citizens has revealed a number of problems which may lead to
violation of the humane principles of adoption. One of the main reasons
for such a situation is that, unlike in other countries, in the United
States there is no single authorized government agency which would oversee
the entire process of adoption, including the control over annual reports
on the living conditions of adopted children. The main players on this
field are numerous duly licensed private (not-for-profit) US adoption
agencies.

Usually, American citizens wishing to adopt Kazakh children refer to such
adoption agencies for assistance and sign contracts with them. The Embassy
has found out that in many cases parents pay upfront 50 percent of the
overall agency fee only for preliminary consultations on a Kazakh adoption
(in average, overall fees could be more than $25,000) and the most part of
the sum is non-refundable.

We have learned about some cases of unscrupulous behavior by some agencies.

For example, there have been situations where parents had to collect and
prepare all the necessary documents themselves and the agencies simply
provided them with the list of documents for a dossier which is posted and
easily accessible on the website of the Embassy of Kazakhstan.

It seems also that some adoption agencies are trying to make undue
commercial profits by dealing with such routine matters as consular
registration, documents translation and processing, and sometimes agencies
even try to gain benefits from changing the region in Kazakhstan where a
child is going to be adopted from. For instance, one agency put in its
contract a $840 charge for consular registration with the Embassy of
Kazakhstan, whereas the Consular Section of the Embassy charges no more
than $180 for the registration (the Embassy does not charge American
Parents any other fees). Besides, the contract says that the "family
understands that fees related to the adoption process abroad might be
changed and are out of Agency's control. Therefore, the Agency does not
take responsibility for such changes and is not liable for additional
expenses." Such a provision makes it possible for the agency to charge
extra fees for alleged
"fast-tracking" of adoption process in Kazakhstan.

Analysis of documents submitted by various agencies showed that some of
them deliberately concealed invalid data and ill-validated documents in
dossiers to speed up registration with the Consular Section of the
Embassy. For instance, one dossier contained a forged copy of doctor's
license; there were other forged documents. Some agencies even tried to
use unethical methods to "fast-track" registration with the Consular
Section.

We also have learned that some agencies made attempts to "monopolize" the
international adoption for US citizens in Kazakhstan and even threatened
other agencies that if they did not start working under their aegis, these
agencies' activity in Kazakhstan would be blocked through their
coordinators on the ground.

We believe that the reason for all the above shortcomings and violations
is the lack of transparency in the activity of a number of US adoption
agencies as well as in the lack of knowledge by American parents about the
adoption procedures in Kazakhstan, related fees and other expenses.

Therefore, it seems that adoption of Kazakh kids by American parents may
have become a source of undue commercial profits for some unscrupulous
agents, who abuse the humane principles of adoption enshrined in The Hague
Convention and Kazakh legislation.

Yet another negative aspect of the issue is that it mars Kazakhstan's
image as some agencies use the parents' lack of knowledge to present
adoption in Kazakhstan as a protracted and inefficient process full of
red-tape and corruption; and request additional expenses on behalf of
parents to "overcome" these obstacles. In other words, some agencies and
their coordinators in Kazakhstan abuse parents' willingness to pay "any
price" to adopt a child as soon as possible, and make undue profits. It is
worth repeating here once again that there are no major fees to be paid to
Kazakh government ministries or agencies in the process of adoption
(except for the above consular and registration fees at the Embassy and
the Foreign Ministry as well as minimal legal expenses).

Therefore, the Embassy has begun considering certain measures to optimize
and refine its work with US adoption agencies.

These measures are aimed at protecting the rights and interests of Kazakh
children and their adopting parents in the US as well as at maximizing the
transparency of the adoption process and eliminating loopholes for making
undue profits through the noble process of adoption.

In particular, we believe that these measures will help to optimize the
number of US adoption agencies willing and able to work efficiently on
behalf of American parents to adopt Kazakh kids. The main criteria for us
to evaluate the agencies will be their ability to supply the Embassy with
transparent information on the rules and procedures of their work with
adopting parents, fees and tariffs involved, as well as their commitment
to send to the Embassy regular post-adoption reports on adopted children
until they reach the age of 18 as required by Kazakh law.

We would like to emphasize that until the above complex work is completed
the Embassy will continue as normal receiving and processing adoption
documents from all agencies except for those that have seriously violated
ethical norms.

Authorities in Kazakhstan are also taking relevant steps to ensure
transparency in the work of coordinators on the ground who represent the
interests of American parents in the country and serve as their liaison
with Kazakh government agencies involved in the adoption process. Efforts
are being taken to create a databank of such coordinators.

We would also like to announce that the Parliament of Kazakhstan is
currently considering joining and ratifying the Hague Convention on
Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry
Adoption. Kazakhstan is also drafting a new Family and Marriage Code which
will also cover the issue of proper accreditation of foreign adoption
agencies' branches in Kazakhstan.

All these efforts will contribute to providing greater transparency,
fairness and order in Kazakhstan's cooperation with foreign partners
(including the US) on international adoption.

Our efforts are also aimed at eliminating the unacceptable and often
unscrupulous practice of "fast-tracking" documents in various Kazakh
agencies. We recognize that the adoption process is not swift but this is
justified by the high responsibility of adoption decisions. We hope for
understanding on behalf of parents and adoption agencies.

As a matter of principle, the Embassy has briefed the US State Department,
through Deputy Assistant Secretary for Overseas Citizens Service Ms.
Michele Bond and Consular Affairs Bureau representative Mr. Gerry Fuller,
as well as the Joint Council on International Children's Services on the
situation around the adoption of Kazakh kids by American families.

We are glad that a friendly dialogue and mutual understanding have been
established with our American counterparts over this complicated issue.

Interestingly, a number of agencies reacted to our efforts in a
peculiar way.

The Embassy has a copy of an email message that has been circulated by an
agency to other agencies and parents stating that the Embassy is
groundlessly stonewalling the process of adoption. The message was written
in the form of an unambiguous instruction calling for maximum pressure on
the Embassy through a wave of complaints to various US institutions,
including US Embassy in Kazakhstan, Senators and Congressmen representing
the districts where parents and their agents reside.

The Embassy would like to point out that it won't yield to any kind of
pressure and firmly intends to implement its plans on streamlining and
improving the process of adoption in Kazakhstan by American parents. The
Embassy is fully open, however, to holding a face-to-face meeting with
adopting parents and adoption agencies to jointly look for ways of
providing maximum convenience for parents and full transparency of the
adoption process.

The Embassy would also welcome the creation of an association of American
parents who have adopted kids from Kazakhstan. Such an association could
be instrumental in assisting American parents to find better ways of
building relations with their Kazakh kids during the post-adoption period
and in many other ways.

In its next Information Note on international adoption the Embassy will
provide more information on adoption procedures as well as offer some
practical advice on cooperation with US adoption agencies working in
Kazakhstan and with their coordinators on the ground.

We will also offer a set of transparent criteria for adoption agencies
which will lay the basis for optimizing the list of most preferred
agencies that could be recommended to all American parents intending to
adopt children from Kazakhstan.

Embassy of Kazakhstan to the United States

1401 16th Street NW, Washington DC, 20036

Tel: 202-232-5488

Fax: 202-232-5845

E-mail: washington@kazakhembus.com

Consulate of Kazakhstan in New York

305 East 47 street, 3rd floor,

New-York, NY 10017

Tel: 212-230-1900

email: kzconsulny@un.int

News Bulletin of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Contact person: Zhanbolat Ussenov

Tel.: 202-232-5488 ext 104; Fax: 202-232-5845

E-mail:zhan@kazakhembus.com

Web-site: www.kazakhembus.com

Zhanbolat Ussenov
Assistant to the Ambassador and Third Secretary for Press
Embassy of Kazakhstan to the United States of America
1401 16th Street NW, Washington DC, 20036
Office: 202-232-5488 (ext 104)
E-mail: zhan@kazakhembus.com

Dear Sir,

After reading Special Issue No 7, June 20, 2008

Information Note on international adoption from Kazakhstan

I wanted to express my gratitude for your efforts of adoption reform here on the USA side of International Adoption from Kazakhstan. As we were victims of Orson Mozes/AIP and his illegal, immoral and unethical adoption practices, by the grace of God and the government of the country of Kazakhstan we were able to successfully adopt a wonderful daughter from Ust Kamenogorsk. We will forever remain thankful that the government of Kazakhstan granted us the privilege to adopt one of their children. In return we will teach our child all we can about her homeland. Already at the age of 3 when asked where she was born she proudly answers KAZAKHSTAN. Words cannot express how thankful we are for the miracle and subsequent joy we experienced in country, and will continue to experience raising our daughter.

Our stay in Kazakhstan without a doubt enriched our lives. Our coordinator Almagul, driver Bulat, translator Sveta and Ministry of Education representative Oksana were always professional and informative. The care our daughter received from the head doctor (Natalya) and all who cared for and loved her for the first 15 months of her life is still evident today, as she is healthy, intelligent, loving, and a well adjusted 3 year old who obviously is very special. Her smile lights up a room and she touches the heart of everyone she meets.

We gained a healthy respect for the Kazakhstan adoption process and the laws that govern said process. Kazakhstan adoption laws are clear, concise and do protect the interests of the child, the biological parents/family and the perspective adoptive parents, and rightfully in that order.

Orson Mozes did not educate us as to the adoption process/laws as it applies in Kazakhstan. When we called AIP because of a photo he listed on the Internet of a 7 month old baby girl available for adoption, Orson claimed he could "hold" this child for us if we paid his agency fee immediately. When we asked about the adoption process and the laws governing this process Orson claimed he had been doing International Adoptions for 15 years and this is how it is done. The only requirements he educated us on, were the collection of documents for the dossier and the mandatory 15 day wait after the judge grants the adoption. He told us this was the period we had to wait, and it was in place in case "we" changed our minds about the adoption. He was never truthful about the exact law of Kazakhstan. Laws we learned about only after Orson had collected his fee, and we discovered the child he claimed he would "hold for us" was adopted by another AIP client. In retrospect the laws of Kazakhstan are deserving of respect from all perspective adoptive parents and should have been respected and followed by Orson Mozes and incorporated into AIP's contract.

While we were given fraudulent information and claims from Orson Mozes/AIP during our adoption process, we in no way hold the government of Kazakhstan responsible for his actions and his victimization of us. Kazakhstan adoption law and the court that supervise and apply this law deserve the respect of US citizens who travel there with the hope to locate and adopt a child.

Your efforts to educate US citizens regarding laws governing adoption in Kazakhstan, will most definitely provide transparency to the process and should be applauded. Successful efforts to weed out unscrupulous USA adoption agencies and the developing a data base of "coordinators on the ground in Kazakhstan" will facilitate even greater transparency. These efforts combined, will serve to protect Kazakhstan orphans and American perspective adoptive parents who have the desire to adopt them.

We are committed to your efforts. Please feel free to contact us if you desire any assistance from us for your efforts at adoption reform.

Respectfully,

Ann and Chris Young

Many thanks for your kind words. Will pass your message on to Ambassador and Consul. All the best to you and your daughter.

Sincerely,

Zhanbolat

Zhanbolat Ussenov
Assistant to the Ambassador and Third Secretary for Press
Embassy of Kazakhstan to the United States of America
1401 16th Street NW, Washington DC, 20036
Office: 202-232-5488 (ext 104)
E-mail: zhan@kazakhembus.com

Adoption International Program/Orson mozes

2008-06-25T19:45:00.001-07:00

We the victims of AIP will be vigilant until Orson Mozes is apprehended and held accountable.

Timing is Everything/LOI Arrives June 06

2008-06-19T08:49:00.001-07:00

The 2006 school year for Christopher has ended. He had a wonderful 6th grade experience, and maintained Principal's List status while simultaneously experiencing the emotional turmoil and many disappointments so far on this adoption journey. He will be moving to a new school next term so 2007 will be a transition year for him in school and at home when, and if his sister finally arrives. He is very excited to know we will be travelling to Kazakhstan soon.
For big Chris, the racing season is in full swing. Chris's passion is NASCAR Modified Racing, and he has been involved in racing since the age of 16. I don't believe he's ever missed a Sat night at the races until our LOI arrived right in the middle of his racing season. When we began this journey, I thought we would have been home already and our adoption completed long before the racing season started. I was wrong. Very wrong. Not only were we right in the middle of the season, but as luck would have it Chris was having a very successful season having visited victory lane 3 times by the end of June. When we finally got the call to make travel plans Chris was leading the point standings and had we not missed 3 Sat night shows because of the time spent in Kazakhstan bonding, there was a very good possibility Chris could have won the coveted NASCAR Modified Point Championship. Can I say as his wife boarding that plane unsure if a child would even be there for us to adopt was difficult to say the least. Here was a man walking away from every racers dream to win a championship never skipping a beat, to adopt a little girl half way around the world. As far as I was concerned he was, is and always will be a Champion.
Due to the uncertainty of our International Adoption many of our friends and acquaintances were unaware of our decision to adopt until it came time for us to travel. When our Letter Of Invitation finally arrived we knew it was now time to share our news with our friends, other competitors, officials and racetrack owners. So the Sat. night before we departed for Kazakhstan we made the announcement at the racetrack. We were touched by the our pouring of support and well wishes from competitors and fans alike. After the races that night our pits were full of fans,competitors, officials and pit crews wishing us well. Racing is a family sport, and we were expanding the Young family by making a prolonged pit stop in Kazakhsan to adopt our daughter. Our local racetrack learned about Kazakhstan and International Adoption that night, and looked forward to meeting the little girl we were travelling halfway around the world to adopt. Chris even made 6th spot in Newsday's top ten sports feats list that week. (See below)
For me, a few months back I had resigned my full time position as Nurse Manager of Peri Operative Service's in preparation for our adoption. I gave my notice well in advance because I wanted the hospital to have plenty of time to interview and hire my replacement. This is the hospital I grew my career at having been employed there since 1980, so when I resigned my full time position and was immediately offered a per diem Nursing Administrative Supervisor position I felt so honored and of course accepted.
We were so thankful to be blessed with the financial ablity for me to be a stay at home Mom for our newly adopted daughter like I did when our son Christopher was born.
They say timing is everything and by God, I am a believer now in hind sight.
Orson called and instructed us to make travel plans to leave June 20th. My hands were shaking after I hung up from him. I couldnt believe the culmination of our dream was upon us. Our time had come. Our prayers finally answered. Everyone was so excited.
I called Eldo at Golden Rule Travel and made flight reservations. I then contacted the Assistant Stork to apply for our Visa's. Everyting now seemed to be moving at a record pace. Packing now was our priority until the morning of June 23th. Just 3 days after Orson's initial call, we were left deflated and disappointed yet again. Orson called and said we had to change our travel plans to July. The lame excuse this time "the head offical at the baby house is going on vacation and no adoptions will be done in her absence". And of course Orson had such a good relationship with this baby house that he wouldnt have know her vacation schedule before telling us to book flights. RRiight... And I am the queen of England.
Orson instructed us to change our flights to July 11. What the heck it only cost 150.00$ to change outbound departure and we hadnt even left the driveway. The one positive thing was we hadn't told anyone as of yet. We decided after Orson's initial call to wait on our announcement until we had tickets and VISA's in hand... Good decision.
SO the three of us disappointed yet again embrace as a family. We give thanks for the blessings we have and pray for patients and understanding. We are thankful that July 11 is just around the corner. Orson leads but God is in control. We remind ourselves of that again and again as we have had to do so often during this journey. Little do we know that the night before we finally depart the USA for Kazakhstan another disappointment awaits...

Americas Most Wanted

2008-06-17T13:36:00.000-07:00

http://www.amw.com

http://www.amw.com/fugitives/case.cfm?id=56499

A segment on AIP and Orson Mozes is in the works. AMW has joined the StopOrsonMozes yahoo group ( http://groups.yahoo.com/group/StopOrsonMozesAIP/members) and is gathering information from all members who have been hurt by Orson Mozes and AIP. Together we are making a difference and protecting future perspective adoptive parents from the emotional and financial devastation many of us have experienced at the hands of Orson Mozes and AIP.
Click on the above AMW web sight and you will see Orson Mozes the fugitive featured there.

Emotional Limbo

2008-06-05T09:13:00.000-07:00

These are the referral photos and medical card Orson Mozes sent us in May 2006 after admitting yet again we lost another referral, Marina. Orson's excuse of "I dont understand what is going on over there" and "Marina wasn't supposed to be available until June" did little to comfort us or build up a trust that had been annilated by the loss of Natalia.
Orson then tried to talk us out of wanting baby 1011. He said she was to old and not blonde and blue eyed. These comments really sent us reeling. We never requested blonde blue eyed referrals. When we first began the process we asked many questions. We did alot of reading about adoption and its life long effects on the adoptee. Having a biological son already we decided if we could adopt a caucasian child that would be our choice for our family. This was our only request and it was made after careful consideration for all involved. Being adopted himself my husband said that all of his life he didnt wear his adoption on the outside, it was an internal private matter to be shared only when he felt it important. If we adopt a child who isn't caucasian while I am sure we will love them just the same, their adoption will always be evident and therefore no longer a private matter for the child to decide with whom to share their adoption story. So we decided to try and adopt an available caucasian child who was in need of a loving family.
In retrospect we assume the reason Orson wanted to talk us out of baby 1011 was because she was a new face on his photolisting and if he removed her photo so soon he couldnt bait other perspective adoptive parents.
We explained our thoughts again to Orson and requested baby 1011. Orson complied with our wishes, removed her photo from the photolisting site and sent the referral pictures and medical card. Again he said baby 1011 would be "held" for us. It was difficult to thank him yet again for all that he was attempting to do for us. But thank him again we did.
Upon review of 1011's medical card which was sketchy to say the least,we held out little hope that we would be adopting at all. However we had to see this journey to the end. Our dossier had arrived in Kazakhstan on April 10th and it had only been there for 5 weeks so far. From all I had read we knew we had some more time to wait for the coveted LOI. We were in an emotional limbo, and almost convinced our adoption would never even take place.
We talked together as a family again about this 3rd referral who's name Orson had not even given us this time. We decided to try and not get our hopes up only to be disappointed again. I myself talked a good story to Chris and Christopher however secretly I had already lost my heart yet again, (for the third time) to this new referral baby 1011. I wondered if they did too.

a href='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_GwSZ2hwG5Zk/SEgQpFkVUuI/AAAAAAAAAls/-tLL6fzbvCM/s1600-h/101105170610.jpg'>

MEDICAL CARD

1. 1011
2. Date of birth: 6 of April 2005 year
3. Information at the moment of birth: Circle of the head – 33 cm, circle of chest – 32 cm APGAR: 7-8, weight – 2 700, height – 49 cm
4. Teeth – 8 (4 above and 4 from below) May 15 2006
5. Information at the moment: May 15 2006 Circle of the head – 42 cm, circle of chest – 45 cm, weight – 7 500, height – 67 cm
6. Diagnosis at the birth moment: healthy
7. Diagnosis at the birth moment: healthy; blood (1), hemoglobin 109 gm-1 Litre
8. Brothers and sisters: no information
9. Nationality: Russian
10. Skills according 1 year old
11. Information about parents: mother-date of birth-1974, unemployment, healthy – normal.

Torture and more tears..

2008-05-14T10:14:00.000-07:00

It was torture waiting to received word from Amy that her adoption was complete and she was home in the USA. During this time I had looked again and again at the photo listings Orson Mozes/AIP had posted online and it was there I saw baby 1011 for the first time.

Something about this baby girl spoke to my heart. Even knowing then what I had learned about referrals, photo listings and Orson Mozes, I had such a strong premonition that this baby was to be our daughter. April the 6th, her birthday had a significance for me. In my heart I just knew she would be ours. The 6th of April is my own Mother's birthday.

Waiting to confront Orson had been torture because with each passing day baby 1011 could be adopted by someone else. I had such a feeling of urgency yet also great inner peace. Maybe I was just emotionally spent....

When I finally contacted Orson Mozes with the information I had, I knew I must choose my words wisely because like before, I wanted to keep Orson committed to wanting to help us. I, in no way wanted anger to be Orson's way out. So with scripted words I revealed what I had yet again found out. Our second referral had also been adopted. Orson played the "how do you know this" card. I explained to Orson it didnt matter how I knew, what was important was, that I knew. Orson Mozes then asked me for proof. When I sent the picture of our second referral in the arms of her newly adoptive parents, I also requested baby 1011 be removed from the photo listing.
Orson's response was just like the first excuse, a dramatic hint of surprise (for effect) in his voice over these new devlopments and then a promise to "hold" baby 1011.

Like I really would believe him after strike two.

I thanked him yet again, hung up the phone and cried.

Hold onto your heart!!!!!!!!

2008-05-12T19:59:00.000-07:00

It was three long months (after losing our first referral) of wondering how our adoption journey would proceed. As we waited for our LOI the pain of our loss lingered, and even thoughts of losing all the money we had invested paled in comparison to the reality we were living. As a family we discussed our options. If we stopped now we definitely would lose everything we invested. There were no refunds on our dreams. We had to play it out. We already hopped on this train and paid our fare both emotionally and financially, we had to see where it all would end up. After all by now we knew God was in control... So we tried to hold onto our hearts and not fall in love again with the picture of our second referral, Marina.
Orson Mozes's email apology about our first referral being adopted by another AIP client, and his pathetic excuse just fueled our resolve. There are no words or deeds that could undue what was done deliberately to us. SO we had to be smarter than Orson Mozes. We had to turn the tables on him. We had to fight fire with fire. We had to get Orson to buy into us, the way we bought into him. We had to feed his insatiable ego. And so we did. We fed Orson lines like "we know you have our best interests at heart" and "we know you will help us find a child". And we thanked him every chance we got. We thanked him so often we even started believing it ourselves. To this day I think if asked, Orson would say I cannot believe the Young family "turned me in" they were so nice to me.
And we were. I even started praying for Orson's soul. I believed in International Adoption and what it meant for both the orphan and the adoptive parents. I remember conversing with Orson about him being in the "miracle business". Another conversation to feed his ego, and get him to want to help us. It truly is so sad for Orson Mozes that greed won out over the miracles.
I remained driven to find all the information I could in preparation for travel to a foreign country. Again I spent many hours on the Internet reading blogs and yahoo message boards to try and understand this process called International Adoption from Kazakhstan. I came across 2 other AIP families who were about to travel.
http://themcspaddenfamily.blogspot.com/ Amy McSpadden

amy and alina

and http://candykaz.blogspot.com/ Candy Bushouse
I owe these two women a huge debt of gratitude. Largely because they helped me hold on and stay focused. I cannot remember who I spoke with first but I believe it was Amy. She had travelled to the same baby house in Ust Kamenogorsk that now, our second referral was living in. I spoke with Amy before she travelled and sent her Marina's (our 2nd referral) photos and asked her to look for her. She said she would try and find her, and take some up dated photos.
During Amy's bonding period in Ust Kamenogorsk while she was spending time with Alina we corresponded via email off the blog. It was Amy who first realized that AIP and Orson Mozes's reputation in Kazakhstan was waning. Amy had encountered and uncovered information in Kazakhstan that when she had posted it on the Internet her very own adoption was threatened, according to Orson Mozes. Amy did manage to recant some of the information to satisfy Orson and her adoption proceeded, but not without issue as you can read in her blog.
Amy also searched for Marina and when she found her, I am sure her heart was heavy from the information she would soon deliver to me. Amy could have easily said she couldn't find Marina. I am so thankful she didn't. The truth was, Marina was being adopted, and her parents were in Ust Kamenogorsk at the same time Amy was. They were a couple from Ireland and with a different adoption agency than AIP. I never imagined history would repeat itself so quickly. While we remained skeptical about Orson Mozes and his promises, I couldn't help but love that little angel in the picture, our second referral. Yet again my heart was broken but I thanked God my second referral would be surrounded by the love of family. I asked Amy to send me a photo if she could. Below is the family from Ireland who adopted Marina. Maybe some day we will meet as the Internet makes this world so small.

After receiving the photo I had to wait to confront Orson yet again, with information I had obtained from the Internet. Because of Amy, I now knew our situation was worse than expected. Not only was Orson Mozes a liar and a crook here in the USA, but now his business practices were being investigated by the Kazakhstan government. In all probability I felt our chances of adopting were all but over. We really needed a miracle. I know I said we relinquished control to God but its hard for the human side not to place doubt...
I didn't confront Orson right away because Amy was still in Kazakhstan in the middle of her adoption. I couldn't chance Amy having any problems with her adoption because of me. So I decided to try and prod Orson. I emailed him and asked if he could try and check on Marina to get an updated picture for us. I told Orson "after all we had been through an updated photo would mean so much." I figure if Orson checked on Marina he would be told she had been adopted. I wanted to see if he would tell me Marina had been adopted. He didn't. Instead Orson said he couldn't get any updated photos and I shouldn't worry, Marina would be ours. It was so hard again not to lash out at him. But I could not, I had to wait for word that Amy's adoption was complete. It would be another 3 weeks before I could make my next move.

Laura Cleaves

2008-05-07T08:15:00.000-07:00

Laura Cleaves was the Santa Barbara's DA's Investigator assigned to our case against AIP and Orson Mozes. The legacy she leaves is one of service and dedication. In the short amount of time I spent in conversation with Laura, her dedication was apparent. She left nothing to chance, and covered all bases. I know for a fact this case in particular had touched her very soul because of the depth of the emotional pain inflicted on the victims.
For us the victim's we lose Laura's passion. However, I know the colleague's she leaves behind will, out of respect for her legacy dedicate themselves to this case with the tenacity that Laura did. A phone call I received from Patrick McKinley (the assistant DA) on 5/2/08 at 6:15 pm NY time to inform me personally of Laura's death convinced me of that tenacity. Mr McKinley's voice was somber, and I knew in speaking with him, his heart was heavy with grief. Laura obviously had the love and respect of her colleague's. Bear in mind this phone call was less than 24 hours after Laura was killed out on the highway in California. Mr McKinley wanted to assure me, and all the AIP/Orson Mozes victims that while we, and they lost Laura, (the lead investigator of our case) Laura had all her I's dotted and T's crossed.
My take on his call was that he was speaking to his departed colleague by reassuring the victims that she had served so diligently. I have no doubt our case is solid and Laura's colleague's at the DA's office will proceed with Laura's passion.
Tomorrow is Laura Cleaves funeral, and while we lost our investigator I remain mindful that Laura's family and her community lost so much more. Laura was a wife, a mother, a sibling and a daughter first. Her family and those who loved her are in my thoughts and prayers as Laura is laid to rest. I pray God's healing love surrounds Laura's family at this most painful time.
Thank you Laura Cleaves I feel blessed to have known you.

We believed this chapter had ended....Jan of 2006

2008-04-30T05:51:00.000-07:00

The stages of our grief were lessened as we prayed for God to guide our tongues and protect our hearts. How we handled all of our emotions during this most painful and confusing time we knew would be mirrored and echoed by our son. Up to this point in his young life, a major disappointment for him had never occurred. As his parents we kept these facts in our sights. We prayed that our actions and reactions would teach our son constructive coping skills there by preserving his hope and strengthening his faith. So while we probably never will understand all the why's of our circumstances thus far on our journey to adopt a daughter, again we consciously choose to just accept and move on unconditionally. A daunting task when the hurt and the defensive anger is just below the surface and ready to rear its ugly head. Somehow, and miraculously Gods love and guidance was ever present and obvious because what we humanly wanted to do and what we did were at opposite ends of the spectrum. We all received the gift of faith.
As the Sapp's chose not to mentioned on their blog a word of the miraculous circumstances surrounding the adoption of their daughter, and the family that loved and lost her, we turned the page silently, as we believed this chapter of our adoption journey which intersected with the Sapp's had indeed concluded.

And so by the third week of February Orson Mozes contacted us again with photo referrals of 2 more infant girls. Seeing the photos below and being told to choose one felt so foreign. When we found our first referral it was us who found her by some circumstance still unexplained. Yet now here was Orson Mozes, who we could no longer trust telling us to chose between these two baby girls.

Was this really how adoption was supposed to be? Is this how God wanted us to proceed? Having a wounded heart made making major life decision's extremely difficult. We wanted to do the right thing, however we didn't know what that was. We hoped and prayed for some type of sign, some guidance, some clarity to assist us in the decision we were about to make. So for some reason, if you remember way back in the beginning of this rewind I mentioned we had first contacted an agency ( 5 years prior to signing with AIP ) called ASA whose literature and video tape we received and for what ever reason at the time, never even looked at. Remembering I had this information I pulled off the shelf all that paper work and the video in the hope of finding a direction to take. To see and compare agencies. In our search for knowledge, miraculously we received a confirmation. Low and behold when I opened the big manila envelope and poured out its contents, out dropped the agency's "Foreign Adoption Director" business card and this brochure.

ORSON MOZES IS IN THIS PHOTO, WHICH I JUST FOUND OUT TODAY AS I LOOKED AT THIS BROCHURE AGAIN FOR THIS POST.

That moment it became crystal clear to us that God was in control of our destiny, and we were where God wanted us to be.
We had contacted Orson Mozes at ASA 5 years prior to signing on with him at AIP, and we never knew it until this day in Feb when we were heart broken over the loss of one child, and told to chose another.
After receiving this confirmation we chose Marina who is the little angel in the second photo. Unbeknown to us at the time this story is far from over...

MAY 1, 2008
SANTA BARBARA NEWS PRESS
Here is the article, and although not seen here a full head shot
photo of Orson Mozes appears today in the Santa Barbara News
Press. I think the solidarity of all of us contacting the reporter
speaks volumes of our resolve. Orson Mozes can run, but he wont be
able to hide for very long. This story describes small snippets of
our pain. When Orson Mozes and his wife Christen Brown owners of AIP
appear in civil court all the evidence will be presented and they
will be held accountable.
This reporter will also be in the courtroom in Santa Barbara when
Orson Mozes faces arraignment on the 62 criminal charges.
Together as a group WE are making a difference as we support each
other, the DA in Santa Barbara and our attorney Joni Fixel who is
handling the civil litigation. I applaud all of our efforts.

Alleged scam victims speak out
KATHLEEN STINSON, NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
May 1, 2008 12:00 AM

Seventeen victims across the country in the case of a Santa Barbara
man who allegedly bilked more than 100 people out of thousands of
dollars in an adoption scam have asked the News-Press to tell their
stories in hopes of improving the chances the suspect will be caught.

Former School House Road resident Orson Mozes, 56, is wanted on
felony counts of allegedly taking money under false pretenses and
grand theft by use of the Internet, according to an arrest warrant
filed March 27 in Santa Barbara County Superior Court by the District
Attorney's Office.

Alleged victims accuse Mr. Mozes of promising them the "best" kids --
primarily from Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Russia -- through his agency,
Adoption International Program. Allegations concern taking money and
then not delivering.

"All victims reported they contacted Mozes after viewing specific
available children whose photos were posted by Mozes/AIP on Internet
Web sites," according to court documents obtained by the News-Press.

According to the District Attorney's Office, 66 percent of the
victims in the investigation were unable to adopt any child through
Mr. Mozes and AIP. Another 30 percent were "only able to adopt after
several heartbreaking, expensive and lengthy referrals (of children).
This investigation could only locate three to four families from 2004
to 2007 who successfully adopted their first referral and in a timely
manner."

Since publication of the first News-Press story on April 22,
seventeen alleged victims have contacted the paper. They communicate
with each other via "Stop Orson Mozes AIP" on Yahoo Groups.

Mr. Mozes' whereabouts are unknown.

An e-mail from one of these alleged victims, Ann Young, to other
victims in the case states, "If anyone does any communicating to the
media, or has connections to the media, we as a group stand united
and will speak of our experiences. Our stories and our resolve can
help prevent future innocent adoptive parents from the types of
crimes that were perpetrated upon us. Speaking out puts people like
Orson Mozes ... who run adoption agencies with illegal and unethical
practices on notice."

Another of alleged victim is Candy Bushouse, of Kalamazoo, Mich. In
November 2004, Ms. Bushouse said she saw a photo of an 8- to 9-month-
old girl from Kazakhstan on the Web site, www.precious.org. This site
showed photos of children available through various adoption
agencies, including AIP.

Ms. Bushouse said she contacted Mr. Mozes, who told her to send
an "agency fee" of $12,850 to him at his School House Road address in
Santa Barbara. He also instructed her to send another check for
$5,000 to someone in Kazakhstan to "hold" the child. She said the
money was sent to a named person, not a government agency.

She said she had previously adopted a male child through another
agency and so had her paperwork or dossier required by the U.S.
Government completed. She said the adoption in that case had taken a
total of nine months start to finish.

Ms. Bushouse said she hoped to travel soon to Kazakhstan to adopt the
young girl for whom she had paid a hold fee so that no other family
could adopt her. However, she waited for months to get the clearance
to begin the process in Kazakhstan from Mr. Mozes.

"He really has a temper -- he would scream at me and hang up on me,"
Ms. Bushouse said.

She said sometime during this time, Mr. Mozes called her to say the
girl she had held was gone and offered no explanation. She agreed to
hold another child.

Some months after that, she contacted a couple in Kazakhstan who
checked on the second child referral. They e-mailed her back that the
child was no longer there.

Ms. Bushouse said when she questioned Mr. Mozes about it, he said the
couple was lying, but later admitted that was the case.

In March 2006, Mr. Mozes got a letter of invitation for her to travel
and begin the adoption process -- more than a year after she first
contacted AIP in November 2004.

"When you're over there (Kazakhstan), you're almost helpless -- you
have no clue if the interpreter" is being honest, Ms. Bushouse said.

She said she thinks Mr. Mozes's crime is that he charged too much for
everything.

"All the costs were inflated," she said.

Ms. Bushouse said when she arrived at the airport in Kazakhstan, Mr.
Mozes required her to pay "close to $8,000" for her lodging, which
was an eight to nine-week stay in an apartment while she went to
court.

She said the woman who lived next door to her at the apartment spoke
English and told her the apartment cost $200 a month including heat.
She said she nearly froze in another apartment Mr. Mozes provided on
the way back because the heat kept going on and off.

"I had to threaten to take pictures of the apartment to the U.S.
Embassy to get a warmer apartment," Ms. Bushouse said.

She said the adoption cost just under $50,000, about $13,000 more
than her other adoption.

Alleged victims Ann and Chris Young, of Calverton, N.Y., contacted
AIP in 2005.

Mrs. Young said Mr. Mozes told her to FedEx $12,850 as an "agency
fee" to his address on School House Road to "hold" a six-month-old
child.

Mrs. Young said it took six months to get her paperwork done. The
United States requires all those who adopt, including those adopting
overseas, to prove their fitness through interviews, F.B.I.
fingerprints, tax records and tax statements.

Ms. Bushouse explained the reason many people prefer international
adoptions is because they are "closed" and the birth parents cannot
come back and contact the child.

She said while she was waiting for approval paperwork from the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security before traveling to Kazakhstan, she
saw the child she had paid Mr. Mozes to hold on a blog that said the
child had been adopted by another family.

"He would put a beautiful picture of a Gerber baby up on the Web
site" and in at least one case, she said, she knew that two people
paid to have the child "held" for them.

"Mr. Mozes' crime was promising us this child would be ours and that
none of his other clients would be able to adopt the child once she
was held, and taking our money," Mrs. Young said.

She said she was able to adopt through AIP after losing multiple
referrals she had "held."

Ms. Bushouse said they stayed with Mr. Mozes ultimately because they
had too much money invested to start over with another agency.

"I had wanted to bail out, but after investing too much money, you
can't afford to back out and start over paying fees," she said. "It
just takes too much time and too much money to change to another
agency."

Several of the victims filed a civil lawsuit in January 2008 in
Pennsylvania against Mr. Mozes, alleging violations of the Racketeer
Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act.

Any person having information about the whereabouts of Mr. Mozes may
contact Laura Cleaves, supervising investigator with the Santa
Barbara District Attorney's Office, at 805-737-7885.

e-mail: kstinson@newspress.com

Attempting to Understand

2008-04-25T06:11:00.000-07:00

Rewind of our adoption journey continued:

This is an email we received on 1/27/06 from the Sapps. Just about 2 months almost to the day we found out we lost our referral, whom they had adopted. As you can see in the header of this email it is a response to the Welcome Home email (located in a previous post titled Welcome Home) we had sent them. To say this email hurt would be an understatement. Our hearts still ached with our loss. Holidays spent grieving and attempting to heal. And in this email barely an acknowlegement of what we had, and were going through. Again we didn't hold the Sapp's responsible for our situation, however we thought they would be a bit more sensitive to what we were going through. Knowing how they felt when they lost Marina and Leo, I was a taken back they would even ask to post our referral picture's on their blog. We had emailed the Sapp's all of our photo's as a gift of our hearts. And while my response to this email was something like "as she is your daughter do with the pictures as you wish", seeing our referral photo's posted on their blog without so much as a mention of how they came to have them, only compounded the pain we had experienced losing her. It felt as if we never even existed. Maybe we were just to sensitive at the time. We were at a loss to understand how they could post our referral's picture, and then remain silent about the circumstances and the miracle surrounding her adoption. Although it was painful to see our referral photo's of the baby girl we fell in love with, and believed with all our hearts would be our daughter on their blog, we respected their decision, and also remained silent about the loss of our first referral when it became our turn to travel and to blog of our adoption story.
http://young-family-adoption-miracle.blogspot.com/

LITIGATION UPDATE
Welcome to Brett & Deanna Heinrich to our litigation group. We are currently amending the complaint to add the Penny’s and the Heinrich’s information.

We are so very proud of your ability to pull together and get the press coverage of the AIP/Orson mess. I know it is painful to bring up all of the memories but you truly are doing other unsuspecting PAPs a favor by exposing the ugly side of International Adoptions.

Have a great weekend – they are predicting snow for us here in Michigan.

Warm Regards,

Joni M. Fixel

Fixel Law Offices, PLLC

4990 Northwind Drive, Ste 121

East Lansing, MI 48823

(517) 332-3390

(517) 853-0434 ** new fax number

Santa Barbara Press Reporter kstinson@newspress.com

2008-04-23T12:29:00.003-07:00

I was interviewed today about our experiences with AIP and its owners Orson Mozes and Christen Brown. There will be another article about our story and the up coming civil suit. When it appears in print I will post it to this blog. All this media attention could help the DA's office locate and apprehend Orson Mozes. I have posted the reporters email address in case anyone reading this blog has information they would like to share.

Also the following yahoo board has many members who have been victimized by Orson Mozes and we are united in our efforts to stop him. Many of our stories can be found there. The civil complaint and arrest warrant documents are also posted there in the file section.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/StopOrsonMozesAIP/members

I will continue this rewind and the telling of our adoption story in its entirety shortly.

Duped Mother Speaks Out About Orson Mozes

2008-04-23T07:43:00.003-07:00

WANTED: Orson Mozes (KSBY)

2008-04-23T07:43:00.001-07:00

WANTED: Orson Mozes

2008-04-23T07:42:00.001-07:00

Article in Santa Barbara News Press

2008-04-23T07:06:00.001-07:00

Santa Barbara News-Press Article Message List

Reply | Forward | Delete Message #1702 of 1711 < Prev | Next >

Warrant issued for alleged adoption scammer : Man supposedly took
thousands of dollars from 62 people
KATHLEEN STINSON, NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Orson Mozes is shown in a 1990s photo .
COURTESY PHOTO

Joe and Dawn De Lorenzo, of Woodbridge, N.J., were never able to
adopt a child through Adoption International Program. A warrant for
the arrest of the company's owner , Orson Mozes, has been issued.
COURTESY PHOTO

April 22, 2008 7:19 AM

The Santa Barbara District Attorney's office has issued an arrest
warrant for a Santa Barbara man who allegedly bilked 62 people out of
thousands of dollars in an adoption scam.

Former School House Road resident Orson Mozes, 56, is wanted on
felony counts of taking money under false pretenses and grand theft
by use of the Internet, according to an arrest warrant filed March 27
in Santa Barbara County Superior Court.

Alleged victims accuse Mr. Mozes of promising them the "best" kids --
primarily from Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Russia -- through his and his
wife Christen Brown's agency, Adoption International Program.
Allegations concern taking victims' money and then not delivering.

"All victims reported they contacted Mozes after viewing specific
available children whose photos were posted by Mozes/AIP on Internet
Web sites," according to court documents obtained by the News-
Press. "Many victims state that upon contact with Mozes, they were
told they needed to immediately set up a FedEx account and then send
an agency fee, generally between $7,000 and $11,000, in order
to 'hold' the specific child and remove the child's picture from the
Web site, so that it would not be available to other prospective
adoptive parents."

Victims said they were directed to send money via FedEx to Mr. Mozes
at his School House Road address, the declaration states. In return,
victims received a packet of forms and contracts from AIP by e-mail.

According to the District Attorney's office, 66 percent of the
victims in the investigation were not able to adopt any child through
Mr. Mozes and AIP. Another 30 percent were "only able to adopt after
several heartbreaking, expensive and lengthy referrals (of children).
This investigation could only locate (three to four) families from
2004 to 2007 who successfully adopted their first referral and in a
timely manner."

"Nearly all the victims who were still in the adoption process with
Mozes/AIP found themselves left with nothing, when Mozes
suddenly 'disappeared' in June 2007," the declaration states.

Laura Cleaves, supervising investigator for the District Attorney's
Office, who opened the case in 2005, said she has been in contact
with the FBI and Interpol to try to track down Mr. Mozes.

"I'm hopeful we are going to apprehend him and I'd like to do it
sooner than later," Ms. Cleaves said.

The arrest warrant does not name Ms. Brown.

Two alleged victims, Joe and Dawn De Lorenzo, of Woodbridge, N.J.,
were never able to adopt a child through Mr. Mozes' adoption agency,
despite giving him more than $75,000 and making three successive
attempts to adopt a child beginning in April 2006, Mrs. De Lorenzo
told the News-Press.

Mr. Mozes "is an emotional rapist," Mrs. De Lorenzo said. "He has
taken more than words can say. He's taken three 'sons' from us,"
referring to the infants she and her husband tried to adopt through
Adoption International Program.

Mrs. De Lorenzo said she and her husband gave Mr. Mozes money
to "hold" a child for them until arrangements could be made to travel
to the foreign country to go to court. In December 2006, she said Mr.
Mozes told them suddenly and with no explanation "your son is no
longer available." By that time, she said they had the child's
pictures up all over their house, told family and friends, and had
heavily invested their hopes.

"We were dreaming about the child and had a nursery up," she said.

Mr. Mozes then suggested they "hold" another child -- and wire money
to do so -- which they did.

Court records state that Mr. Mozes provided detailed instructions to
numerous victims on "how to wire money, and in some cases instructed
victims to lie on the forms stating the purpose of the funds being
wired."

Mrs. De Lorenzo said she was led to believe the foreign country was
corrupt. She said they also continued to cooperate, in part, because
they had many thousands of dollars invested.

In February 2007, the De Lorenzos flew to Kazakhstan to try to adopt
the second child.

She said someone connected to the adoption agency met them at the
airport to collect the latest installment -- $10,000 in cash. She
said the girl who met them insisted they give her the money in the
restroom where there were no cameras, which they did.

Next, they flew to a city to "bond" with the child, as is required by
Kazakhstan law. Bonding involves meeting with the child for two hours
a day for two weeks at the orphanage. During this time, she said Mr.
Mozes forced them to stay in an apartment at a cost of $175 a day.
They were not allowed to stay in a hotel.

Mrs. De Lorenzo said she thinks the orphanage was in "cahoots" with
Mr. Mozes -- how else could she have gotten the child's pictures?

She said she had been vocal in questioning Mr. Mozes' methods and
felt that he was not happy with her for that reason.

"On the 10th day of bonding, we were brought into the office and told
the baby's mother reappeared," she said. "We had just thrown a
birthday for the child (the day before). I was very public on the
blogs and I believe he purposely told the orphanage director to say
that to break my heart."

So ready were the De Lorenzos for a child, they agreed to try a third
time.

They went through the bonding process and set up a court date, she
said. The court granted the adoption on the condition they wait 17
days to allow for objections. During this time, the child's mother
objected, although she had previously abandoned him, according to
Mrs. De Lorenzo.

They went to court three more times to fight the objection, but
finally had to return to the United States to continue their
employment.

After returning home, she said they received a letter written in
Russian, which the couple had to pay to have translated.

The letter said the case was closed because they had failed to show
up to court on the appointed day. They had understood someone was
handling the matter there for them.

Mrs. De Lorenzo said she next told Mr. Mozes she was upset and
planned to turn him in to the authorities, whereupon he "skipped
town," she said. Sometime later, she apparently came across Mr. Mozes
on the Web site Match.com, on which he stated his "turn-on" was power.

"I think he got a kick out of manipulating people's emotions and
having power to control such a large part of their destiny," Mrs. De
Lorenzo said.

e-mail: kstinson@newspress.com

I emailed this reporter and will be interviewed today about our adoption story.

Reflections of our adoption journey...

2008-04-15T09:49:00.001-07:00

As we approach Christmas of 2005 and are waiting for our I600 approval, the reality of our situation takes hold. We found ourselves in emotional limbo searching for answers and a clear indication of the direction to take. I read, reread, copy and paste a timeline from the Sapps blog as a means to try and understand what transpired, when and why.
While we remain sympathetic to the Sapps and in no way hold them responsible for the situation we found ourselves in, we knew Orson Mozes had lied to and deceived us. And by now the Sapps also are acutely aware of this fact. Orson Mozes was directly responsible. There was not a "Big Mistake" made.

The pain reflected in our sons eyes, and throbbing in our hearts was a direct result of Orson Mozes's delibrate actions, his arrogance and his greed. Orson Mozes knowingly baited us with a photo listing and required payment of his agency fee to "hold" this child by letting "all other interested AIP clients" know she would not be available. Orson Mozes spoke of the long time relationship he had with the director of the baby house as he had been in the adoption business for 15 years. Never once did Orson Mozes inform us that photo referrals are illegal in Kazakhstan, or that another AIP client could, or for that matter that any agencies client could adopt our referral. The only Kazakhstan law Orson Mozes explained was that a family member or citizen of Kazakhstan could lay claim to and adopt our referral. This information Orson Mozes explained explicitly and in hind sight now we understand why. This law provided the perfect excuse for Orson Mozes when his client is finally paper ready to travel to adopt their referral on "hold" but has been adopted by another AIP client.
The evidence is compelling especially after reading below, the comments chronologically that Orson Mozes posted on the Sapps blog during their adoption in Ust Kamenogorsk. Orson Mozes knew exactly what child the Sapps were adopting, as a 5 year old girl they originally planned to adopt and travelled blind to find, was not available. So to forfill the Sapps desire for a daughter, the Sapp's were shown our referral. The child Orson Mozes declared would be "held" for us. Hense the switch. It is my opinion, Orson never anticipated we would find the Sapps blog. When the time came for us to travel, he would have emailed us (as he has done to others both before and after us, we came to realize) and tell us "your referral is no longer available". Remember the only Kazakhstan law explained explicitly? Perfect crime because it was virtually impossible to verify if your referral was claimed by a birth parent,adopted by a citizen of Kazakhstan or adopted by another AIP client.
In living this nightmare the gamet of emotions one experiences on so many different levels is collosal. It was so difficult not to strike out. It took an academy award winning performance to speak to Orson Mozes on the phone and not attempt to destroy him with words. We were acutely aware that Orson Mozes knew he had us right where he wanted us. Paid up and vulnerable.
We had to be smarter than Orson Mozes,so we plotted our next move. Instead of expressing the raging anger we felt (which would have been counterproductive), we remained vunerable in demeanor when speaking with Orson Mozes. We let Orson Mozes believe, we believed his lies that this situaton had "never happened before". We told Orson Mozes we trusted he would do his best for us. Orson Mozes in turn promised he would. We wanted Orson Mozes to trust us. We knew, Orson Mozes knew we had evidence of his illegal and unethical practices, and she was adopted by the Sapps. A blog documentation of the timeline and events leading up to the adoption of our referral was publically posted on the internet and available for download and copy to file.
The fact that Orson Mozes used the Sapps blog to deceive all who read it into believing their adoption of Natalia was a direct result of Orson Mozes/AIP's HONEST efforts disgusted us. (In our hearts we knew God was in control of Natalia's destiny and she was where she was meant to be). However it also hurt and surprised us that the Sapp's allowed these comments on their blog, and then placed a thank you testimonial on AIP's then web sight. This was not a man or adoption agency deserving of promotional testimony which could possibly attract other unsuspecting perspective clients.
While we did and do feel the Sapps were just as much the victims as we were, the ends didnt justify the means as far as we were concerned. We have since wondered, how the Sapps would have felt reading those comments and testimonial post on AIP's web site had the situation been reversed.

Below are the exact postings from Orson Mozes to the Sapp's blog. Blogging was relatively new and for Orson Mozes/AIP, now a gold mine of free testimonials and advertising. Touching stories to perpetuate the client money pipeline. Orson's greed clouded his vision. Blogging became the vehicle that ultimately destroyed AIP.
Judge for yourself, and I await the day a jury hears this case, reviews all the evidence and Orson is held accountable and judged by a jury of his peers.

Orson said...
We am so happy for you. It is so much fun watching you dream come true from Orson and all the gang at Adoption International Program.
8:34 AM
POSTED 10/21/05
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Orson Mozes said...
We are all so gald that your court date is sooner than expected. We are all following your blog and think you are a wonderful family. It seems everyone over there thinks the same. Lots of love from Orson and the gang at AIP.
10:59 AM
POSTED 10/22/05
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Orson Mozes said...
Hi Michelle and Chris; it's Orson I get an update everyday regarding your family. I am sure your court day will be fine. Lots of love. Again the blog is great. Everyone at the office is reading it everyday.
6:49 AM
POSTED 10/28/05
______________________________________________________________________________________
Orson Mozes said...
Congradulations Chris and Michelle. I am so happy for the both of you and your family. You are wonderful clients.

Orson Mozes
Foreign Adoption Director
Adoption International Program
12:24 PM
POSTED 10/31/05
______________________________________________________________________________________
Anonymous said...
Hi Chris and Michelle! It's Molly! I'm filling in and doing some work at the agency today so I got to get a full update and check out your blog! I'm SO thrilled to see the absolutely ADORABLE children you've found! I can't tell you how happy I am for you and for Mateo and Natalia! Congratulations to you both and I hope your journey home is safe (and quiet!)- and yes, they do have things like ambien for babies.... doubt you'll be able to find it until you get home, though! hang in there!

Molly
3:32 PM
POSTED ON 11/28/05
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Orson Mozes Foreign Adoption Director said...
Well; your almost home now. It has been quite a journey with you guys. Their have been a lot of ups and downs. One thing that I will say; is that I am very grateful to have worked with your family through it all. I feel that no one could have been better clients and parents. You are both a wonderful example of how parents should go through this journey and not lose sight of today. You have always done your best to stay in the moment; because as we all know, that moment will never will come again, so that is life. Being present in it is all we have. Most of the worries we worried about never come to pass. I am grateful to have worked with parents such as the both of you. What a wonderful blog. You have helped so many by letting all of us experience your point of view during this journey. I could not even begin to think how lucky Matao and Nataliya are to have you and you them.

Your friend for ever Orson
10:36 PM
POSTED 12/02/05

Litigation Update

Christen Brown has obtained counsel in Philadelphia. She has hired the firm of Cozen O’Connor (http://www.cozen.com ) and the attorney assigned is Robert W. Hayes. Our local counsel advises that this firm does a lot of insurance defense – it remains to be seen whether there is insurance coverage or not (we will find out in discovery).

A stipulation will be entered with the Court today to allow us 45 days to amend the Complaint and then Christen has 45 days to answer the complaint. This will allow any additional families to join and gives us time to draft the Amended complaint. This seems like a long time to drag out the beginning of this lawsuit but this is not a typical lawsuit and the complexity will cause some delays in timing.

Warm Regards Joni M. Fixel
Fixel Law Offices, PLLC
4990 Northwind Drive, Ste 121
East Lansing, MI 48823
(517) 332-3390
(517) 853-0434 ** new fax number

Update on Orson Mozes Adoption Scam

2008-04-15T06:13:00.001-07:00

Sarah Wallace Channel 7 Eyewitness News

2008-04-14T09:18:00.000-07:00

Tonight at 6pm on channel 7 Eye Witness News there will be a follow-
up to an Investigative report conducted by Sarah Wallace which
originally aired in Sept 07. The original report contained interviews
with families who agreed to relive and publicly share their
adoption experiences with Orson Mozes and AIP in an attempt to stop
the victimization of future perspective adoptive parents. These
stories are compelling and heart wrenching.
Since the airing of that original report and as you will see tonight,
a criminal investigation has culminated in the issue of an arrest
warrant for Orson Mozes.
Also 14 families have join together and a civil suit has been filed
in order to bring Orson Mozes, his wife Christian Brown and their
adoption agency AIP to court to be held accountable for their illegal
and unethical practices. This litigation will send a loud message to
people and agencies like Orson Mozes, Christian Brown and AIP here in
the USA.
Because International Adoption is an unregulated industry it is my
opinion that as an adoptive parent we have a moral obligation to
share our stories in order to educate others as to what can and does
happen when you contract with an agency such as AIP who's practices
are illegal and unethical here in the USA. This sharing can prove to
be a powerful tool in the regulation of future International
Adoptions.

Here is the link to the video.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=A4l3kL7GM1c

Welcome Home

2008-04-09T05:41:00.000-07:00

The Sapp's arrived home safely on Dec 8, 2005 with their beautiful children Mateo and Natalia and to a future of firsts ahead of them.
The email above is one I sent in hopes that the Sapp's would feel our sincere wishes for health and happiness as they begin their lives together as a family.
Being a mother already, and knowing the Sapp's knew intimately the devastating loss we were experiencing as they too had lost referrals, my concerns were for Michelle.
As we were dealing with the pain of losing Natalia, and knowing the effects the loss of Marina and Leo (the Sapps first referrals) had on Michelle, I worried she could feel badly having adopted another families referral. I empathised how I would feel in that same situation and because of that empathy I wanted Michelle to know what was in our hearts and that we would be alright. I didnt want an emotional cloud hanging over the parents who were adopting the child we fell in love with. A cloud created because of the unethical and illegal practices of Orson Mozes and AIP.
The life lessons and gifts of faith we experienced and subsequently taught Christopher our son, were lessons we will carry with us, and draw from throughout the rest of our lives. The three of us, consciously through our pain chose to accept our loss as an unanswered prayer, and to celebrate the Sapp family miracle as the will of God. The Sapp's and the Young's will forever share a chapter in their adoption stories, and our daughters Natalia Sapp and Leah Natalya Young have a miraculous beginning chapter to their adoption stories.
Orson because of his own greed got it all wrong and victimized both our families however, God even uses people like Orson, and God doesn't make mistakes. The Sapp's daughter Natalia was created by God to be their Natalia, and our Natalya created by God was still waiting for us to arrive in Ust Kamenogorsk, but not before our faith is yet again tested to the max....

Civil Law Suit Update/Criminal Case Update

2008-04-01T13:31:00.001-07:00

As promised this is an up date on the progress to bring AIP, Orson Mozes, Christen Brown and Kevin Anderson to justice.
With regards to the civil suit both Christen Brown and Kevin Anderson have been served. Orson is still amongst the missing right now. Below is Joni Fixel's web page

ADOPTION INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM LITIGATION

Current Status

On January 10, 2008. a lawsuit was filed on behalf of 14 families who were victims of fraudulent adoptions by Adoption International Program, its directors and management. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court - Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Allegations include breach of contract, fraud, violations of the RICO Act and various other Federal and State laws. The families have been victimized by the predatory behavior of this agency and its directors.

WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP?

When the Defendants have been served the Summons and Complaint, the court will order a scheduling conference. A scheduling conference allows the parties involved in a lawsuit the ability to map out a timeline for discovery of evidence to either prove or disprove the allegations in the lawsuit.

3/20/08

AIP as a corporation and Christen Brown were officially served with the lawsuit today. Kevin Anderson has previously been served. Orson Mozes is still considered "missing".
How can I join the lawsuit?

Our office is now receiving information from interested parties who wish to join the lawsuit. If interested a note can be sent through this website by filling out the questionnaire or sending an e-mail to Joni Fixel at jfixel@fixellawoffices.com .

Below is an update from the senior investigator in the DA's office in Santa Barbara that was posted on the Stop Orson Mozes Yahoo Board http://groups.yahoo.com/group/StopOrsonMozesAIP/members . If anyone reading this blog has any questions please feel to email me, contact Joni Fixel the attorney for the civil suit or Laura Cleaves the Senior Investigator in the Santa Barbara's DA's office.

RE: [StopOrsonMozesAIP] Re: lawsuit

Hello All,

Kathy-you are listed as a victim in my report, along with 61 other victims (each couple and each single parent counts as a victim for our investigation). The Chief Assistant DA has approved my report and the legal secretaries are preparing the 62 felony criminal charges as I type this email! As well as copying my binders with the thousands of pages of evidence that all the victims provided in the form of questionnaires, emails & photos from Orson, contracts, etc. (Those of you who provided these items at the risk of opening old wounds and heartaches-I can't thank you enough!) I believe, and the Chief ADA agreed, that we have a very compelling case!! The D.A.'s office is filing 62 counts of section 532 of the California Penal Codes (Theft by False Pretenses).

I prepared the affidavit in support of an arrest warrant this morning and I am asking the judge for $1 million dollars bail, I should have the arrest warrant shortly. I have begun looking for Orson with the assistance of the Sheriff's Dept and I will be contacting the FBI today or tomorrow to see if they will assist in what is known as a "UFAP" warrant. (Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution), it has to be issued by the US Attorney and is simply an additional tool in arresting persons that we believe to be outside the country.

So now the hunt will begin, I have some thoughts on what countries he may be in, and quite frankly he may still be in the US, I am of course open to any information any of you may have about his whereabouts...I think as "unique" a character as Orson is, he will have difficulty in hiding out for very long......

Also, I still would love to get information from any additional victims of Orson, if you have not provided info to me previously or if you know any other Mozes/AIP victims that you can convince to come forward.....Just last week I had an email back from a victim I had sent several emails to but had never received info from. He finally wrote saying he had not responded before because he did not take my letters/investigation seriously and had written off ever getting his money back or seeing Orson brought to justice. When he read my last update, this victim realized that I was serious about my investigation and bringing Orson in to face criminal charges. So the victim became number 62 to provide his info and evidence.

I am serious, this investigation/case is serious, The D.A.'s office is serious...Orson Mozes will be a wanted fugitive facing 62 felonies by week's end.

Laura J. Cleaves
Supervising District Attorney Investigator
805-737-7885

As I continue to re tell our adoption experience in its entirety, you will learn from my perspective why we felt compelled to join with the above victims to stop the unethical and illegal practices of AIP and Orson Mozes. While we did successfully complete an adoption of a wonderful daughter we could not have a "an ends justifies the means attitude". We wanted to be a part of a movement to protect perspective adoptive parents (who willingly take that leap of faith to adopt internationally) from people and agencies like AIP and Orson Mozes.

Receiving the gift of Faith

2008-04-01T09:56:00.000-07:00

The process of grief is much like the children's book "Going on a Bear Hunt". When the children run into obstacle's on their bear hunt, like long wavy grass or a big muddy river, the answer is always "we cant go over it, we cant go under it, we must go through it. Our grief, we realized was much like that. To begin to heal we had to go through it. We also knew we needed God's help. So we cried our tears and shared with each other our feelings of loss and disappointment. Then we asked for the gift of faith.
Because of the Sapp's on line blog we were able to watch from a distance the transformation in Natalia' eyes and her whole being. The photo's we looked at and loved for 6 months were of a tiny baby with a sadness in her eyes. As the Sapp's began loving and nurturing Natalia those sad eyes began to twinkle. It was in those twinkling eyes we witnessed the powerful miracle of love. Being able to see this miracle unfold before our eyes gave us such a feeling of hope, that our faith was renewed.
It was then we decided that our referral pictures should be shared with the Sapp's. In sharing our referral photo's with Chris and Michelle Sapp, we took that final emotional step of letting go. We emailed all the photos Orson had provided us of Natalia to the Sapp's because we knew they didn't have these photos as they met Natalia when she was just about 12 months old. Our referral photos were of a 7 month old Natalia. They were our gift to the Sapp's.
Today anyone who can read the Sapp's blog and view the montage of photos they have put together about their adoption journey, can also witness the same miraculous transformation of which I speak, as our referral photos (the youngest photos of Natalia) reveal her sad eyes.

Unanswered Prayers, Miracles and Faith

2008-03-10T10:55:00.001-07:00

Soon after we received confirmation from Orson that the Sapp's had indeed adopted our referral Natalia, the Sapp's sent us an email. They explained the reason they didn't email us back right away was because they felt it was Orson's responsibility to tell us they had adopted Natalia. They expressed their sympathy and offered prayers.

After we regained our composure, I prayed for words and a message to send to the Sapp's. Even though our hearts were heavy with grief, our thoughts and prayers were also with the Sapp's and our baby 749 Natalia (the child we thought would be our daughter). As I sat to type our congratulations my heart in its complete humaness was consumed with pain and anger, yet I was driven to send a message of love. Through tears I typed words I must have received through prayer. We sincerely wanted to communicate to the Sapp's that in no way did we hold them responsible for our pain, and we were consciously placing our faith in God. While we received this unanswered prayer which was painful and difficult to understand, we were also giving thanks to God for the miracle unfolding in their lives.
In this re-telling of our journey, as I re-read the sent message, the confirmation from God is so evident that our miracle is coming.

Before sending the ecard we talked as a family alot, about the life circumstance's both the Sapp's and the Young's were sharing. We realized the Sapp's and their miracle would forever be tied to our daughters adoption story and each time we share our story the Sapp's and Natalia are an important chapter.
We talked about our adoption and our expectations.
Then we asked ourselves some tough questions. The likes of which required some deep soul searching and acceptance of the answers we found, but didn't necessarily like.
With biological children, were there photos and guarantees? The obvious answer. NO. So why did we have a different expectation with our adoption? Orson Mozes!
Were photo listings and referrals with medical/social information legal in the adoption process in Kazakhstan? NO.
So why did we have one?
Orson Mozes!
Did we ask questions about the process, about the country, about the legalities and the possibility of not being able to adopt baby 749 (Natalia)? YES.
It was explained to us that the ONLY way we could lose baby 749 was, if a biological parent or family member came back to claim her, or if a citizen of Kazakhstan wanted to adopt baby 749 (Natalia) before you arrived in Kazakhstan to begin the bonding process. The latter being a situation that never occurs because of the stigmatism placed on children in orphanages.
This information was all provided by Orson Mozes as he requests the 12,850.00 fee to "HOLD" this child for us. He goes on to explain that after the fee is in a fed ex envelope with a tracking number, baby 749 will be removed from the Internet photo listing and no longer available to any other interested clients. His confidence that this child will be our "daughter" is convincing.
Did we really have a right to place any child on "HOLD" for adoption?
Difficult question to answer at the time given we didnt have all the information we have today. We didn't know there was another way to adopt from Kazakhstan. We didn't know about travelling blind and that there really was never a need to pay any fee (other than an application fee) until you are paper ready to travel. Our adoption agency, AIP and its director Orsen Mozes failed to explain the ethical adoption process that was and is in place in Kazakhstan.
When we first contacted AIP it was because of our desire to adopt, and an Internet search. We found Adopting.com, perused the site and its photo listings. Baby 749's photo touched our hearts and our journey began.
The answer to the above question now that we have lost our referral (baby 749 Natalia) and retrospectively is unequivocally, NO.
We did not, and do not feel we had a right to "HOLD" any child for our adoption while gathering our documents for the dossier, or for any reason for that matter.
If there is a family at an orphanage ready to accept a child into their hearts and lives, we didn't feel it our right to have a child spend even one minute longer in an orphanage not experiencing the joy of having and being a special part of a family.
It was this revelation that provided us the most comfort to begin the task of emotionally letting go of baby 749 Natalia, the child we believed would have been our daughter.

This is a copy of the ecard I found on http://www.bluemountain.com/ and the message we sent the Sapp's. We wanted them to feel our sincere congratulations.

Dear God we need your wisdom...

2008-03-10T09:11:00.000-07:00

Tears are flowing as reality penatrates our hearts.

Natalia (Leah) will never be our daughter, or Christopher's sister.

Christopher is sobbing.

The baby we have loved for it seems like always, has been adopted by another AIP family.

It is so hard to:

comprehend how this could have happened.
keep the anger at bay.
watch our son so hurt.
deal with this major disappointment rationally.
not let the wounded child in us act out.
not feel foolish for trusting in Orson.
realize that resigning from a job I loved was probably now, a big mistake
have faith.
trust God has a plan.

It is hard to pray when one doesn't know what to pray for.

So I ask God to fill my heart and my mouth with the words necessary to comfort my child and my husband.
I feel a major responsibility to both my husband and son to somehow comfort their pain.
I feel inadequate and vulnerable.
I decide to pray for Gods mercy and wisdom.
I struggle thru my own emotional turmoil to converse with God about my son, his pain and our situation.
My attempts at prayer are interrupted as my mind wanders to the Sapps in Ust Kamenogorsk.
I try and imagine how they must be feeling knowing now, that they have adopted our referral.
I know they experienced this same emotional pain not long before they travelled to Kazakhstan.
They too lost referrals.
I dont want them to feel anything but joy in the birth of their family and the miracle that has been granted to them.

It was then, when I began thinking of others(the Sapps) the revelation came to me.

Upon entering the Christmas Season I could pray that we the Young's be like Mary, mother to Jesus.
Let it be done unto us and accept this pain trusting God has a plan for us.
We can accept this unanswered prayer even though we do not understand it.
We can use this life lesson to teach our child faith, and trust clarity will come.

Little did I know back then, this conscious decison to trust in God would be the beginning of many miracles we were to experience on our journey to adopting our daughter Leah.

Emails

2008-03-03T22:06:00.000-08:00

This is the first email response from Orson after I called him to ask if the child the Sapps were adopting was our referral. We were so happy and relieved to read these words.
Believing Orson, this is the email we sent to the Sapps who at the time were in Ust Kamenogorsk picking up their children.

This was Orson's reply to my first response to the email notifying us a "Big Mistake was made" I truly believe I never would have emailed the Sapp's had Orson told us the truth when we first called him about the Sapp's Natalia.
This circumstance was one of the most emotionally painful experiences an adoptive family can deal with.
Our faith was tested to the core. In retrospect we are so thankful to God for unanswered prayers and miracles.

Its difficult to breath!!!!!!

2008-01-19T08:05:00.000-08:00

November 22,2005 began much like every other since we began our adoption journey. Little did I know that by days ends we would experience an emotionally stunning turn of events in our adoption journey.
The morning rituals of getting ready for school and work, like most families began as the alarm goes off. The dance of the morning orchestrated each day, some time in synch some time off key but always a creshendo of kisses goodbye and I Love you's.
I can not remember the happenings of the early part of the day because at that time I was employed as the Nurse Manager of Peri Operative Services. A responsibility of overseeing 5 major areas. Ambulatory Surgery, Pain Management, Endoscopy, Post Anesthesia Care Unit and Pre Admission Testing. To say I was very busy was an understatement however having some 25 years experience as an RN at this particular community hospital I was capable and confident. I loved my job and the satisfaction it brings when you make a difference in someones day.
However there was a job I loved more. Motherhood. I knew my hectic stressful days at the hospital were all but numbered now. After years of soul searching, praying and reseaching we decided in May of this year, adopting Leah was the plan God had for us. Therefore as I did when Christopher was born 11 years prior, I would be trading in my full time RN position for a return to full time stay at home Mother to our new daughter.
From the beginning of our adoption journey and similar to a regime of pre natal vitamins, daily I would log on to the internet in search of information to keep a blood level of hope to sustain us. Around November 3, 2005 I joined http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ust-Kamenogorsk-Adoptions/ and began reading everything I could. This message board dated back to 2003 so there was alot of reading to do. It was so inspiring to read of others who successfully completed their adoptions. As I became familiar with the board it was here I first learned about blogs, and because of their post on this Yahoo board inviting all to read of their journey, I found the Sapp blog. When I clicked over to read their blog, they were home from their first trip and preparing for their return to pick up the children they had adopted. Their posts from 11/1 thru 11/19 did not contain pictures of their children. So as I read their story at this point in time I had no idea that this young couple from Illinois and the Young's from NY would share an emotional chapter in their adoption stories. I was still very new to blogs and didnt realize that one could click on the archives label and read all the older posts.
This blog I most closely followed was http://sappfamilyadoption.blogspot.com/ They were an AIP family who's foot steps eventually we would be following in, and the only blog of an AIP family I could find on the internet at that time. I read everything they had posted not only on their blog, but also on different yahoo boards and web sights. As I became familiar with their adoption journey in hindsight now I realize, they were ultimately the ones who prepared us somewhat for the twist and turn our journey would take. It was in their adoption story I first read about adoptive parents losing referrals and how emotionally devastating that experience could be. The Sapp blog begins with a sharing of the devastating heart break they experienced upon learning the children they had come to love, would not be available to them for adoption. A memorial tree and planted flowers signify the love they have for these children which will remain forever in their hearts.
Intellectually I knew lost referrals could happen. However Orson from AIP assured us "very rarely" does it happen and for limited reasons. He explained if your referral's mother or family member comes back to claim the child, or if a native Kazak couple wants to adopt your referral you could lose her. We were willing to take that chance as Orson again told us this was a rare occurance.
As I read the Sapps daily posts, I remember feeling so happy for them as they prepared for their return trip. I could only imagine the pain they had suffered at the loss of their first referrals, and I thanked God for the miracle he had granted them. Each day I would log on to follow their journey and I was so thankful they were sharing their story. I waited in anticipation to see a picture of the children they had adopted.
On Nov 22 just 2 days before Thanksgiving the anticipation was over. I saw the beautiful faces of the Sapp children. Their post dated 11/23 because of the time difference, began with 3 pictures of their son Mateo and Chris the Dad. My heart filled with joy as I saw their smiling faces. As I scrolled down the post and saw Natalia's picture my breath was taken away.....My pulse rate soared and tears began....
I didn't want to believe what I was seeing.
Our referral 7 months old photo cropped

A picture from the Sapps blog (when it was public) at 1 year old cropped

Could their Natalia be our Natalia?
Our referral photos were of a 7 month old.
Six months had past since our photos were take, and children change alot.
Could it be another AIP family adopted our referral?
I immediately called Orson Mozes.
Orson reassured me they were not the same child.
He was convincing and I wanted so badly to believe him.
I am relieved by his words.
So much so, I email the Sapps ( who have no idea we even exist) while they were in Ust Kamenogorsk and explain to them what occured and what Orson has told me and assured me. ( I will post that original email in the next post)
I ask the Sapps to look for our Natalia, and if possible get an updated photo for us. I send them our referral photo honestly believing Orson has told us the truth. And I wait for a response from them.
As the hours pass without a return message from the Sapps, my anxiety grows. I really study the Sapps blog wanting to see more photos, and I discover the archive label.
When I click on it, I can go back to the beginning of their journey and see many pictures of both Mateo and Natalia. My heart begins to hurt as the reality of what has happened begins to sink in although no one has confirmed it as of yet. Not Orson or the Sapps.
The Thanksgiving Holiday and the preparation for it provides a temporary respite from the confirmation I know is coming. While Chris and I have experienced great dissappointment in the past we are ill prepared to witness our son's reaction to this painful revelation.
The next 48 hours are emotionally diffcult to say the least, I have so many different emotions swirlng in my thoughs. As I look at and study the pictures of Natalia, while she has changed and grown, her eyes have remained the same and we have been looking at and loving those sad blue eyes for months. I still cannot believe, I do not want to believe the obvious.
Then my thoughts turn to the Sapps. After all they have been through, now this. I am so sorry to have sent that email. I am so sorry they will come to know they have adopted our referral. Never once did I think another AIP family would or could adopt our referral. Had Orson told me the truth when I called to inquire about Natalia, I never would have emailed the Sapps. Their adoption was already complete and happiness and joy is all I would have wanted for them. Not this cloud of pain. I knew, they would know only to intimately the pain we will be suffering when it is revealed they adopted our referral.
This is the point in our adoption journey I get that sinking feeling Orson is not what he appears to be. He has lied to us, and I believe also to the Sapps.
As 2 days pass and with no word from the Sapps, the confirmation for me is complete. It is now just a matter of when and how Orson is going to tell us.
His email arrives the day after Thanksgiving. The heading says it all...

Subj: Big Mistake. We are so sorry.
Date: 11/25/05 11:49:55 AM Eastern Standard Time
From: info@...
To: cacy49@...
Sent from the Internet (Details)

Yes there was a mistake. The child the Sapps are adopting was the
same
child. I was so surprised to hear this after I pressed our attorney
to give
me both dates of birth of both the children and names and I asked how
can
this happen and he said the people at the orphanage and Ministry made
a
mistake and nothing can be done now of course.

The Sapps went blind and chose this girl and no one told them this
was girl
was taken. I asked how come our team did not know and he said the
co-coordinator did not. He said it was his mistake for not keeping on
top of
it.

I cannot believe this happened. They all said they would make it up
to you
of course and send you a beautiful girl very similar to the one you
had. You
have time until you travel so I am sure they will do just that; but
things
like this should never happen and I told them that repeatedly. I am so
sorry. The Sapps of course know this now and are also feeling bad
for you.

Please try and keep this stupid mistake in your own family because I
am so
embarrassed by this and so is everyone else involved. We will find
you a
wonderful girl under a year that will be fabulous for you; we will
begin
doing this now and every girl that we get will go to you first

Orson Mozes
Foreign Adoption Director
Adoption International Program
info@...
www.adoptioninternationalprogram.com
Toll Free 1-866-969-8445

Orson Mozes
Foreign Adoption Director
Adoption International Program
info@...
www.adoptioninternationalprogram.com
Toll Free 1-866-969-8445

Our son is devastated as he reads Orsons words. The pain we see in his eyes is almost unbearable to witness. How do we comfort him?? How do we explain to an 11 year old who has also fallin in love with this child how this happened? We stay close this night as a family and each in our own way ask God
Why?????

Lawsuit Update
On 1/10/08 litigation was filed in the U.S. District Court in Pennsylvania -
Eastern District against AIP, Orson Mozes, Christen Brown and Kevin
Anderson.
It is my understanding that Kevin Anderson has been served. The next step is locating Orson Mozes and Christen Brown his wife, in order to serve them also. The legal process continues.

Still waiting...

2008-01-18T14:19:00.000-08:00

Have I mentioned the wait is torture when your heart is full of love to give to your child. I am sure if you are reading this blog you are either waiting, totally understand the emotions experienced waiting, know of someone who is waiting or are seriously considering adoption and have already begun the wait.
Having accepted a referral from a photo listing, obtained most of the required documents, paid all of the agency fees, received updated photos of our daughter and being in a state of completely trusting in Orson Mozes and AIP, we are ill prepared for the truth and consequences that we will experience a few short weeks after the joyous birthday celebration for our daughter.
Having alot of time to adore and pray for this precious child in our referral photo (not posted here out of respect) I wander the Internet in hopes of finding a connection somehow to Ust Kamenogorsk and the baby house in which she is living. I Google Ust Kamenogorsk and much to my surprise and subsequent delight there is a yahoo group ( http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ust-Kamenogorsk-Adoptions/) dedicated specifically to parents who have, or are in the process of adopting from this very town in Kazakhstan. This yahoo group opened my eyes to blogging, something I had never heard of. Parents who were in the process of adopting, documented their experiences online publicly and kept daily diaries and photo journals.
We were so thankful for a glimpse into a location and a life that had been the center of our consciousness for months. Innocently I stumbled on this site and I am almost transported to the front door of the orphanage where my daughter lives. The ability to visualize this building, in the here and now produces an increased sense of urgency in wanting to travel to the child we have fallin in love with. I commit to memory each detail of this building and pray for the day we enter that front door and begin our lives together.

That reality is almost palpable for us now, because of blogging. The ability to read blogs of others that are there in Ust Kamenogorsk. Adopting their children. Experiencing their miracles and sharing every detail thru their publicly posted words and photos.
A documentation of hope for all of us who wait. A confirmation of answered prayers and God's glory. A living documentary of love in action.
In each blog I read, I experience the magnificence of the immediate effect love has on the emotionally deprived innocent child. It is nothing shy of miraculous. The transformation is striking, as blank stares turn into infectious smiles, tears and fears turn to hugs and security. Loneliness turns to great joy.
The agony of the wait and the journey but a memory, as parent also transforms. The emotional bond strengthens with each precious moment shared with there child.The faces of these parents reveal the intensity of the love they are giving and receiving.
Each blog tells a story and not only gives those of us waiting hope, but much needed information to prepare for our own journeys. As I said the waiting and journey is agonizing much like the agony of physical childbirth.
So the discovery of blogs and how to navigate them gave us information we welcomed to help us hold on and prepare. We were so thankful to these parents who voluntarily publicized their experiences for anyone to read and learn from. Arming ones self with knowledge helped to alleviate certain anxieties with regards to what to expect. We were able to learn exactly how the process goes, the different problems that could happen and how to resolve them if and when they did. In reading what happened to others, we were able to trouble shoot our own issues when they cropped up. Being prepared helped keep those anxieties and emotions at bay. God knows this journey is filled with twists and turns.
Listed below are a just few of the many online public blogs we read in preparation of our journey to Kazakhstan. Each blog a personal account of International Adoption. A wealth of information about the country, the culture, the joys and the issues that surround adoption from a foreign country. We were so very grateful for their sharing we vowed to do the same when we finally walked in their shoes.
As we read each word from families involved with AIP and Orson Mozes we were happy to see their dreams becoming a reality. In the days that followed our daughters 1st birthday celebration we spent hours perusing these online public blogs. We actually logged on each day to read about the adoptions happening in real time. Four families in particular interested us, as they were AIP clients adopting children from the baby house our daughter lived in. Eagerly we read their daily posts and also their archived posts. We studied each photo hoping for a picture in which we might possibly see our daughter in the background....

http://sappfamilyadoption.blogspot.com/ Oct 05 AIP
http://woodstokaz.blogspot.com Feb 06 AIP
http://rockthekazblog.com/ Feb 06 AIP
http://themcspaddenfamily.blogspot.com/ Mar 06 AIP
http://candykaz.blogspot.com/ Mar 06 AIP
http://zalomskiadoption.blogspot.com/ Mar 06 AIP
Other agencies and web sites
http://themccafferyfamilyx4.blogspot.com/Mar 06
http://www.xanga.com/marknpam
http://www.frua.org/chat_main.html
http://kazakhadoptivefamilies.com/index.html
http://www.kazconsulny.org/English/index.htm

Oct 20... Happy Birthday Natalia... We Love You...

2008-01-10T12:33:00.000-08:00

It is becoming increasingly more difficult to remain patient. In 5 months we have gathered almost all the necessary documents required for International Adoption. Now the completed home study and an application must be sent to the Department of Immigration. The coveted I-171H approval is the last document all adoptive parent wait for to complete their dossier. Upon receiving this document we then will be able to submit our translated apostilled dossier to the country of Kazakhstan. The waiting is almost unbearable. Leah (Natalia) is so much a part of our daily lives now, its as if she is already here. We are totally attached to her.
In the mean time we are fast approaching our daughters first birthday which is Oct 20.Orson had sent us updated photos of our daughter late Sept (I wont post them here out of respect) which served to strengthened our bond to her. We are thrilled to see how much she has grown, yet also sad to think she is emotionally alone without a loving family to make her feel special. Our hearts are heavy wanting to share the love we have with her NOW.
Nannie (my mother) decides we will all get together and celebrate Leah ( Natalia's) 1st birthday. She makes reservations, buys balloons, party hats, cake and candles. We gather that evening, place Leah's picture around the table and celebrate the birth of our special daughter. The wait staff join in our celebration and we take pictures to one day share with our daughter. This celebration is part of her adoption story and the pictures will convey how much we longed for and loved her even before she was physically with us. Instead of sonogram photos we had referral and updated photos of the child to be our daughter. We prayed for Leah (Natalia) that night as we have done since first accepting her into our hearts......

I have purposely drawn a heart around the face of Natalia out of respect.

Criminal Investigation Update

2008-01-10T09:46:00.000-08:00

This is the latest information out of California from the DA's office. It is a posting on the web site below.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/StopOrsonMozesAIP/members

Last week I finished organizing all of the evidence/questionnaires that have come back in. I have received 20 questionnaires back, most with accompanying emails and documents. There are at least another 10-15 families who have indicated they would be sending me the info but have not yet done so. I really need this information ASAP! I have information from 3 additional families that indicate they were very happy with AIP/Orson. (It appears that their adoptions were several years ago) I interviewed a past employee of Orson's this morning (she worked for him when he was Adoption Service Assoc, back in 1996-1998). I really would love any contact/locate information on his past employees "Maria" (Hispanic last name) or Jayne Howarth.

I have started preparing the very lengthy investigative summary ("police report" for lack of a better description). I hope to have that completed by the end of the month. I know this process seems endlessly slow, but I carry a full caseload of complex/lengthy investigations and am a supervisor, so there are always many issues vying for my attention!

I am fairly confident that my investigative summary will provide sufficient probable cause/proof for my Chief Asst DA to file felony charges against Orson and enable me to seek a felony arrest warrant against Orson so that I can look for him in earnest. (and utilize the various law enforcement tools that are available when one is seeking a felony fugitive)

Laura J. Cleaves
Supervising District Attorney Investigator
805-737-7885

Waiting,wondering,sharing,bonding and praying

2008-01-07T06:12:00.000-08:00

Thoughts of Baby 749 are now all consuming. We name her Leah. Leah Natalia Young. We wanted to keep her given name but also give her an American name.So when we pronounced just the last 3 letters of her given name we heard Leah, hence our name for her. We think and speak of Leah every day. Our hearts feel as she is already here with us. A family heirloom antique child's rocking chair sits in our living room collecting Leah's first gifts. A Christmas bell, a racing cap, an angel bear and a blue denim jacket Christopher wore as a baby. All waiting for our little girl. Our daughter, Christopher's sister.
The love we feel for her grows deeper each day as we look at her photo (not posted here out of respect) and imagine her in our family photos. We are getting closer to bringing her home as each requirement for our dossier is completed.
We talk about what it will mean to have a daughter and a sister in our lives. What we will show and teach and share with her. Christopher grows more excited each day as the reality of being an only child will some day be just a memory. He is a caring child with a pure heart. We explain to him each step of this process, to ensure he feels he is completely included in our adoption of Leah. This is happening to all of us and we all agree that for Leah, we give up a part of the life we know now for the life that lies ahead with her as a member of our family. We all talk with God. Sometimes together, sometimes alone as our lives begin to change.

What to expect when your adopting internationally

2007-12-04T06:23:00.000-08:00

Letters of recommendation. Yes, letters verifying that you have friends and acquaintance's who will attest that in their opinion you will make good parents. Wanting to keep our adoption a private matter is now out of the question, as we must ask our friends for letters of recommendation. Bear in mind these letters are not to come from family members. So with photo of baby 749 in hand, one by one we introduce our daughter to the people who we feel know us the best to evaluate us as parents. With each introduction we share our dream of adopting baby 749. (photo not posted here out of respect). We explain to our friends what we know about the process of International Adoption and where the journey has taken us so far. As we share our adoption news we fall deeper in love with baby 749. Many of our closest friends share in our joy and look forward to also sharing our journey, wanting updates as they become available. We decide to ask Christopher's 5th grade teacher to also write us a letter, as she has spent alot of time with Christopher and we believe, can evaluate our parenting skills through having Christopher as a student. We also want her to know that there is a big event happening in Christopher's life, should she see a change in his behavior. She is also very honored to be asked to help us adopt our daughter, and writes a letter that touches our hearts.
It is very humbling to ask friends to write a letter about you, and then heart warming to read what they have composed.
These letters become a permanent part of the home study which is a major part of your dossier. All forming the base for our daughters adoption story.
Next is onto copies of birth certificates, marriage certificates, last 3 years of tax returns, passports, police clearance letters, health insurance letters to prove an adoptive child will be covered and proof of employment letters.
Then it onto the long wait for the completed home study after the required home visit from our social worker. Anywhere from 6-12 weeks depending on the social worker. Obtaining these necessary documents is not difficult just time consuming when you really want to be on a plane to Kazakhstan yesterday.
So instead of stretch marks and frequency one can expect to be come expert at hurry up and wait.

We Need a Home Study NOW

2007-11-25T05:32:00.000-08:00

So now we have a daughter and in preparation of her arrival, instead of MD appointments, vaginal exams and pre natals we make an appointment with a social worker. A social worker recommended by AIP. Phyllis LaBella located in Manhattan. A mere 45 minute drive(IF there is no traffic lol) to her office in the NYC. We plan to make a day of it and celebrate with having dinner out after our appointment. We are so naive to this process and have no idea what the home study is all about.
We walk into her Manhattan office excited to know we are that much closer to bringing our daughter, baby 749 home. We are early for our appointment and take a seat in Phyllis's reception room. It is small,clean and well manicured. As we are waiting we begin talking and realize we are very unprepared for this home study interview. Just as this realization comes over the both of us, the door to the inner office opens and we are greeted by Phyllis LaBella. After a brief introduction we are escorted into her office which looks just like a comfortable living room. A warm comfortable living room with a plush carpeted floor, beautifully painted walls, room accents and lighting conducive to producing an environment of trust and safety. We take our seat on a comfortable soft sofa, the type that when you sit puts you even closer to the person who sits next to you. Phyllis sits on an adjacent lovely arm chair with a dark wooden table and floor lamp that provided soft lighting. With steno pad in hand the interview begins. Phyllis is very good at what she does and her years of experience are evident as she begins with what I call the pre nuptials. Generic information to begin the base of our home study that will be read by the people who decide if we are worthy to adopt a child and also some day by the daughter we adopt. Ages, dates of birth, places of birth. Right at the outset of our interview we are in delicate territory. Birth, you see Chris my husband was adopted. He knows intimately the emotions that our daughter will feel and follow her through her entire life. A probing of these emotions begins. I sit and listen to his response of the questions Phyllis asks. He is comfortable, confident and articulate. He has a strong sense of who he is, and that he loves, (was and is loved by) his adoptive parents. He talks about his biological Mother and discusses the "search". He reveals his private intentions of someday actively searching but does not want to search while his parents are alive. He has had the normal thoughts of adoptee's wondering about what she looks and the why's of her life. The, do I have siblings and what about my father questions. And then he says, the reality of a wonderful life pushes those thoughts back to the recesses of his being so as not to waste time thinking and not living. As the interview proceeds I secretly fall in love with Chris all over again as he reveals to this perfect stranger his innermost vulnerability in the quest to adopt our daughter.
After the pre nups it on to the main event. The reality of who we are individually and then as a couple. Childhood up bringing and experiences. Family life, struggles,issues,divorces,siblings,conflicts,resolutions and coping sills. There was no subject that was ta bu. Discussions about our son, his personality, his school work and our parenting style with him. Religious beliefs and discipline each examined to see if we were united in our thought processes.
After an intense emotional soul searching 90 minute interview the first meeting of our home study is complete. Phyllis enjoyed our story and our perspective of our lives. She seems genuinely excited for us and expresses to us that she is honored to be a part of our adoption. She will document a positive recommendation about our ability to adopt and parent another child. Chris and I express our sincere thanks and share with Phyllis the referral photo's we have of our daughter baby 749. Much like a grandmother she gazes at her picture and then looks up at us and says "this child is very lucky to be adopted by parents like you".
We again thank her for helping us. We write a check for partial payment and Phyllis tells us the report should be done in a couple of weeks, after which we will have a meeting in our home for the completion of our home study. We say our goodbyes and out the door we go.
At dinner that evening we re hash the interview that just took place and the ramifications of the outcome had we not had a relationship built on love, mutual respect and common goals. It dawns on us again how ill prepared we were for this very personal question and answer session. However we celebrate the fact our marriage and our relationship passed the test of a stranger probing some of the most emotionally vulnerable areas we as individuals and as a married couple have.
We share a toast to loving each other even more than we did 17 years ago on our wedding day. We realize how much we have grown as people and as parents.We are excited that our dream of having a daughter is but a paper chase away.

We interrupt this blog!!

2007-11-23T13:35:00.000-08:00

For those of you who are following this rewind of our adoption story, and for new comers who have heard about our story and are reading our blog for the first time I will be making a few changes to the beginning of this blog.
As I posted in the beginning of this blog, it will be a "living blog with a story that is continuing to unfold"
Because a future chapter has taken place, which I will share with you all at the appropriate time, I am making a conscious decision to voluntarily remove the medical card and all photos of baby 749 out of respect.
My intention for this blog is to tell our story in the hopes it will provide insight and educate future adoptive parents about some of the dangers of International adoption along with the miracles that can and do occur.
If my efforts can save one family from the pain we suffered and puts one unethical adoption agency on notice then the time spent writing this story will not be in vain.
And now back to our story

Less than 24 Hours Later

2007-11-21T04:50:00.000-08:00

This email came less than 24 hours later. The ink barely had time to dry on the documents and check we had sent Fed Ex the previous day. However the pictures of our daughter are still fresh in our minds, and each detail of her existence is being inscribed on our hearts. We took that leap of faith. We read the fee schedule, we knew the cost. Our love for her is blind, so we were oblivious to the inevitable heart break that waited for us. We obtained the cash and carefully followed Orson's instructions believing we would be that much closer to her and along in the process. We were so naive. Bringing that much cash to the supermarket (which is where this particular Western Union office was located) felt so odd. This day and age who in their right mind sends that much cash to someone in another country that they have never even laid eyes on or spoken to. Adoptive parents do, and we are glad to. Our child is waiting for us, and we for them.

We Feel Life… As The Seeds Of Hope Are Planted…

2007-11-14T18:59:00.000-08:00

After seeing that baby 749 is no longer available to the world, Christopher and I turn our attention to the pictures we were sent by Orson. We gaze at each picture of her, just like families peering through the window to the newborn nursery seeing their newest family member for the first time. We are falling in love. Her face is round and pale with sad blue eyes, and we begin to plan how we are going to make her smile.
She is tiny in her crib and we notice her clothes are inside out. She obviously has no diaper on.
We wonder about her life so far. Is she held and loved and kissed? Is she told how special she is? Does she go to sleep in comfort, dry and warm and satisfied? We review her medical card again. Its information is so foreign to our way of thinking. Her mother, just 23 years of age, abandoned her precious baby after 5 months. Police act of bringing the abandoned child. Snippets of information as to who our child is and from where she came. We have so many questions, but only one answer. Yes we love her!
And so the new waiting begins.
When Chris gets home from work a few hours after our Fed Ex meeting he joins us at the computer and looks at her pictures. This adoption for him, has begun and with probably many of the same emotions his parents had in preparation to receive him as their son so many years ago. A unique bond that he will share with his daughter is forming. We are all in awe of the events of the day. Each of us in our own way commits to this innocent baby girl. Our hearts have all accepted her as ours. We continue to talk about her through dinner and bedtime. We know every day from this day forward she will be part of our lives. A daughter and a sister have been born into our family.

FedEx Express May 20th 2005

2007-11-05T07:14:00.000-08:00

I can remember this day as if it were yesterday. I liken the experience to conception except however during International Adoption conception, all physical, conscious and emotional impulses are happening in the acute stage of now as opposed to subtle biological conception which takes place quietly from within.
This morning started out much like the morning before except the Young family knew before days end we would be taking a huge leap of faith. We prayed together that morning during breakfast that God would be with us on our journey to baby 749. We prayed that trusting Orson Mozes was the right thing to do. We prayed for baby 749 that she could feel us wanting and loving her from afar. We began talking about her as though she had been here from the beginning.
So after Chris and Christopher left for work and school it was my job to go to the bank and get the check we needed to adopt our daughter.
I prayed all day that we were making the right decision. I vacillated between being thrilled our adoption journey was beginning and nervous about the impact having another child in our lives would have. A gamut of thoughts continued throughout the day as I played each scenario I could conceive of in my conscious brain . The what ifs of taking a chance with your heart and the heart of the son you adore.
The plan is, I pick Christopher up at school and Dad will meet us at Fed Ex to say one more prayer together and one last chance to talk about any uncertainty before we send the contract and bank check.
Our timing this day was perfect as we managed to arrive at the Fed Ex building parking lot at the exact same time. Dad jumps into the car and we are all smiling simultaneously. There is no question as to what we all want to do. We take a vote and it is unanimous. We all place our hands on the fed ex envelope and again ask God to protect and guide us on this journey. We all discuss again the fact that what we are doing is a risk. However we conclude, this is what life is all about RISKS.
We seal the envelope and all of us accompany it to the Fed Ex counter. The lady behind the counter is unaware of the precious dream she holds in her hand.She places the envelope on the scale, checks the label, prints off the receipt and tells us to have a good day.
We walk out of Fed Ex and sprint to the car. We are laughing and hugging and hurried. Dad asks "hey where you guys going so fast"? We tell him home. Dad asks "why so fast"? Dad, Orson said once we send him the tracking number on our Fed Ex within 15 minutes he would take baby 749 off the photo listing. We have to get to the computer ASAP.
Christopher and I are giddy in the car all the way home. We run into the house and boot up the computer. We email Orson our tracking number and we wait, pacing the computer room much like an expectant family waiting for the news. We are watching the clock and 15 minutes seems like 15 days. When the time finally lapses we check our email and find from Orson, more referral photos and the medical card of "your child". We then look at the Adopting.com web sight and find Orson has been true to his word. Baby 749 is not there. Orson has firmly placed her into our hearts and lives.

We begin to hope...May 2005

2007-11-02T14:35:00.000-07:00

A photo listing of an innocent child touches our lives as the possibility of adoption becomes a palpable hope. We call the provided references. Orson sent a page full of names and phone numbers of parents who were former clients. Each person I spoke with verified their experiences with AIP. Orson met their expectations and they were united with a child who filled their lives with great joy. We felt so confident because of the number of references on this particular email. Twenty six in total, aside from the success stories found on the AIP web sight. The mere number of references provided and the relative ease in contacting them added to our confidence in Mr Mozes. We were ready to take that "leap of faith."
This confidence now precipitated a new sense of urgency. We needed now to get the necessary funds together to have our baby taken off the photo listing. Twelve thousand eight hundred and fifty dollars. Where do we get that amount of money in a hurry????

Christopher, included in all of the discussions,research,emails and decisions to be made regarding this adoption, in all his innocence answer's that question in 3 words. Three words that give us a profound understanding of exactly how much he wants this child to be his sister. USE MY MONEY.....

We couldn't believe what he had said. Here he was 10 years old and yes he had that amount of money in the bank readily available. Christopher said Mom... Dad.. lets go tomorrow baby 749 is waiting for us and I am waiting for her.
Even Christopher as young as he was felt that urgency, that connection to this precious little girl who needed a family that would love her forever.
Christopher's generosity was to be proud of so, it was decided we would use his money. Money he earned, as he has been modeling since he was 3 years old and we taught him to save some,spend some and donate some. For now we permitted this donation.

The Call

2007-11-01T22:10:00.000-07:00

And so I called Mr Orson Mozes with an excitement much like that of a woman waiting anxiously to see that line in the well turning positive. As I inquired about precious baby 749 and Orson began his speech he portrayed convincing confidence about how he could help us. Each question I asked was answered with an explanation that was both logical and believable.
So how does this all work Orson? The process is as follows. I send you our packet of information and agency contract. You sign on with us, return the contract and begin the collection of the required documents to build your dossier. This can be a lengthy process depending on many things both here in the USA and in Kazakhstan. After all the documents are collected and apostilled, we have your dossier translated and then submit it to the Ministries in Kazakhstan and wait for an LOI.
OK and about how long does this all take? The time varies. Our best estimates are 6-9 months before you travel.
Orson I have been watching baby 749 for almost 5 days, why is she still available? His reply went something like "I cant explain that Ann, we are also surprised she is still available."
Orson we would really like to adopt baby 749. Is that possible being we haven't even started the document collection yet.
Yes Ann it is possible. I can hold this child for you, after you pay our agency fee in full and accept baby 749 as your referral.
Orson how is that possible?
Ann I have a relationship with the Director of the Baby House and I have been doing adoptions there for 15 years. Baby 749 is my child so she will be held for my client.
Orson is this all legal? Absolutely Ann.
Our knowledge of International Adoption was based on what I read on the Internet and our discussions with the Newman's in Florida. From all that I had read, Orson sounded precise,professional and convincing.
Orson so what exactly do we have to do right now to adopt baby 749?
Each question I asked seemed to make the process of international adoption cold and businesslike. The excitement and mystery of a biological pregnancy obviously absent.
Ann in order for me to hold this child you first have to open a fed ex account in order to send your payment and signed contracts. We in turn will send out our embassy packet which will walk you though each document and how to obtain them. After you sign the contracts and place a certified check for the agency and application fee in a fed ex envelope and email me the tracking number, I will, with in 15 minutes remove baby 749 from the Internet photo listing and hold her for you.
So then that means she is ours. Yes she will be yours. The only circumstance that could possible happen after that would be if her biological mother came back to claim her. Then she would have the right to have her child back if her rights weren't already relinquished by the court. Also a family member could claim her and lastly if a native Kazakh citizen wanted to adopt her they have the first choice of available children. The circumstances I just described rarely occur. Mostly once a child enters the orphanage this is where they grow up unless they are adopted.
This is how adoptions are done in Kazakhstan.
OK so now tell me how much are the fee's. Well for baby 749 who is an infant just 6 months old, our total agency fee is 12,850.00. This includes the application fee.
So let me be clear on this. If we send you this fee and sign a contact with you baby 749 will be ours barring any of the above circumstance you mentioned.
His reply "absolutely". Orson what if the above does happen? Then what?
We find you another child similar to baby 749.
Orson I hope you don't take offense, I would like to speak to some of your former clients. Can you provide references?
Yes I can provide references. You can also read success stories on my web sight.
Orson I already did that, now I want to talk to clients.

When You Google.... International Adoption

2007-10-29T05:35:00.000-07:00

I guess in a previous life one would have opened the yellow pages and found adoption under A. In 2005, a few strokes of a key board and the Internet blasts you onto web pages chock full of information about adoption, and much to my surprise also photos of waiting children all ages and ethnic backgrounds staring back.
I spent many hours reading and searching and wondering. I saw their faces, innocent children, and pondered their circumstances. How could so many be born into cement buildings with a probability of remaining there for their entire young lives. Never to experience that bond of unconditional love from a mother or father. A love that makes one feel special and unique. A love that nurtures and provides security. A love that anticipates ones needs both physically and emotionally almost automatically like an involuntary reflex. A whole population of children in waiting.
It was during this search on 5/9/05 I saw for the first time the face of baby 749 on Adopting.com. Her photolisting spoke to my heart. Could she be the daughter we were hoping to adopt? Was the process of International Adoption really just a click away? I studied her, read all her information and began to conceive the idea,the possibility that this child could become my daughter. What would it take? What were the rules? How do we start? Is this the way it is done? Internet adoption! Do we dare!
So I watched her photolisting, guarding it much like a mother guards her newborn. Checking every few hours making sure she was still there. I bookmarked Adopting.com so as to get back to the web sight even quicker. I was pacing, much like I did when I was in labor with my son Christopher only there was no accompanying physical pain. I stood watch over her for almost 4 days and nights logging many hits onto her photo listing. I was convinced each time I went to check on her she would be gone, but each time I booted up she was there. Her big beautiful sad eyes staring back at me as if to say "well what are you looking at, I am here, I am real and if you are really serious about wanting me then put your faith where you mouse is".
So I decided to show my baby 749 to my husband and tell him of my internet pregnancy. It was then he began to understand my frequent trips to the computer room. He asked why I didnt show him baby 749 sooner, as he also was taken with her. I told him because I was feeling a bit foolish. I wanted to see if she would be there online for more than a day or two. I couldnt fathom she would, and with each passing day my hope of adopting her grew.
As parents we knew we had to consult with and include Christopher in this life altering decision. He came in from school on or around 5/13/05 and both Chris and I sat at the computer an pulled up baby 749. Again she was there as she had been for almost a week. Christopher looked at her and then back at us and said "can we really adopt her?". The Young family read her photo listing together and then it was decided I was to place the call. My first conversation with Orson Mozes, the Director of Adoption International Program took place on May 14th 2005 regarding baby 749.

Civil Suit Update

2007-10-26T06:39:00.000-07:00

In conjunction with telling our adoption story, I will simultaneously provide contact information and update the progress of the civil and criminal suit as I am made aware of the details.
I also request if any AIP families who are blogging want to put their blog link here, to email me and let me know. Our stories are the truth, factual, real life and necessary to help change the face of International Adoption.
To date 13 families have retained Joni Fixel (517-332-3390) jfixel@fixellawoffices.com to represent us in an impending civil litigation. We, as a group are reliving our adoption stories as we sift through the mounds of documents, saved emails and receipts necessary for submission to our attorney to build this case. For some this is an excruciatingly painful labor, others have been blessed with a miraculous ending to their adoption journey. The ends however does not justify the means, so we stand up in an attempt to protect future parents who are willing to take the leap of faith required for adoption.

lcleave@co.santa-barbara.ca.us
This is the email address of the Senior Investigator who is presently interviewing AIP clients, collecting evidence and heading up the criminal investigation of Orson Mozes, Christen Brown,Kevin Anderson and AIP. If you have any information please email her.

Below is a link to an investigative report Sarah Wallace from Channel 7 News was conducting into the adoption practices of AIP and its owners. Sarah contacted us, and the other AIP family (who adopted our first referral) and requested an interview. After much discussion and sole searching we decided to grant an interview. Although we had been blessed with a miracle (the successful adoption of our beautiful daughter and we couldn't be happier), it was our moral obligation now to tell our story about AIP in order to warn and protect others against painful unnecessary bait and switch adoption tactics we believed AIP employed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8EmDE77xVc

This interview and the fall out from it has served as a catalyst to my truth and consequences blog.

April 2005

2007-10-24T19:19:00.000-07:00

Life is good. Chris and I are in successful career's. We have been blessed with financial security, a solid marriage, a love of God and a wonderful son. We are a family that eats dinner together each night, and are trying to live a life our God would be proud of.
One day at work I pick up a phone I usually never answer. One my staff members is on the line and she is frantic to find one of her collegues. When I ask her if there is anything wrong she says well, yes. She wanted to speak to this particular person because she just found out there were 2 brothers from Russia here on a visitation and the family that sponsored them couldnt take them due to a family emergency, so she was trying to find another family interested in adopting them. Without a thought I told her we would. She nearly dropped the phone. She then rattled off the information and told me the name of the church I had to be in that night in order to meet these children. They were 5 and 7 years old.
I immediately went back to my office and called my husband. When I began speaking to him I was so excited he told me I had to slow down. After I conveyed to him what had transpired he said "Ann you have to let me think about this for a few minutes, I will call you back." I hung up and waited. It seemed it took him forever to call back, however 10 minutes is a long time to wait when you want a specific answer now.
When the phone rang the pace of my heart increased as I heard his voice say "what time do we have to be there."
5:45 I said and it 4pm now. He said OK I am on my way. I will pick Christopher up and we will meet you in the parking lot.
I recalled my staff member to verify the information again and tell her we were going.
When Chris and Chistopher arrived I got into the car and it was then we began to talk about adoption to our son. We felt he had to be in total agreement as he had been our only child for 10 years. So we asked him on the way to the church how he felt about having another child in our lives. His answer was a spontaneous yes with a smile that allowed us to look directly into his heart.
We did meet the boys that night and so did other interested families.
It was this night we realize we were being called to adopt. So for the ensuing days we talked together as a family, then privatey as parents to discuss what direction to take. We read up on adoption and the ramifications on biological children.
We also went to visit the boys again prior to them leaving to go back to Russia. They were active, bright and adorable however we decided for our sons's sake at this point in his life adopting a baby girl would give him more of a connection to a sibling. Also as parents we wanted to avoid any feelings our son might have with regards to any competition from the boys.
Together as a family it was decided a baby girl is who we would look for as we began our adoption journey.

Our Decision to Adopt

2007-10-19T20:46:00.000-07:00

Our decision to adopt began about 6 years. Our son Christopher was 7 years old and the possibility of another biological child was nil. So we began to talk about adoption. Our thought was, domestic adoption at our ages would be next to impossible, so we turned to International Adoption.
While vacationing in Daytona Beach I came across the following article in the local paper

SUSAN WRIGHT
Staff Writer susan.wright@news-jrnl.com
February 20, 2001; Page 01C
ORMOND BEACH -- Tait Andreyva Newman is one in 650,000, according to her father, Ken Newman.
He beams as he calls her "Little Miss Personality." The elfin 3-year-old with delicate cheek bones and a 100-watt smile lights up as her mother, Denise Newman, brings out a box of toys and mementos.
In seconds, she has pulled out and arranged on the floor a matryoska, the traditional Russian nesting doll hand-painted with purple and blue flowers.
Her older brother, Reid, 9, helps her in the awkwardly gentle way of older brothers.
Like many other adoptive parents, Ken and Denise Newman plan to tell their obviously cherished daughter how special she is because they were able to choose her for their very own -- out of an estimated 650,000 children currently available for adoption in post-Soviet Russia.
They'll also be able to tell her about how they traveled halfway across the world to St. Petersburg, Russia, to pick her out. They have videos of themselves in the waiting room at the orphanage holding a tiny, alert and enchanting 7-month-old Tait on their laps. They'll be able to tell her that she was carefully chosen -- the couple considered three other little Russian girls before deciding on Tait, whom they adopted just over two years ago.
They want everyone to know the blond, blue-eyed gamine has been nothing but a joy since they first saw her in an orphanage they say was one of the best in the former Soviet Union. "The best of the best would bring tears to your eyes," Ken says.

They adopted her through an agency in Arizona, where they lived before moving to Ormond Beach.
The couple is campaigning to make sure more people know that their story of a successful Russian adoption is the norm, not the exception -- and the vast majority of those 650,000 children in need of a family of their own are healthy, mentally and physically.
The Arizona-based agency they used has been in business for 27 years, handled about 3,000 adoptions, and, according to the Newmans, only had 10 cases in which the adoptive parents decided they couldn't keep the adopted child -- a phenomenon known as a disruption.
Tait, who loves her preschool and proudly shows off the latest gymnastics moves she's learned in her twice weekly class, is so clearly healthy and happy she could be a poster child for Russian adoptions.
The Newmans are willing to talk about their experience because they are more than a little tired of hearing the horror stories. They say the media has concentrated on the shock value of a few examples of Americans adopting Russian children with severe emotional and mental problems -- and left a false impression of what happens to most families who turn to the former Soviet Union to adopt.
Television programs and newspapers series have focused public attention on the danger of bring ing home a child who may be permanently unable to relate or bond to others -- children who were so deprived of nurturing and human contact in the orphanage that they are unable to form normal attachments.
Those cases, they contend, are the exception, not the rule.
Only a small percentage of the children from countries formerly part of the Soviet bloc are so severely damaged, they say.
They say they have met many other couples who have adopted children as normal and healthy as Tait, including several in Ormond Beach.
Couples who are thinking about adopting a child have several ways to make sure the child they adopt is a child that will bring them the kind of joy Tait has brought to them, they say.
"This particular orphanage has little, two-minute tapes of the children they'll send you. When you get them, the agency will show them to experts who can tell you if there are any signs the child has any kind of severe problem," Ken says.
They'd already sent experts tapes of other little girls from the orphanage and discovered that one child seemed to have a severe condition that could have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills if they had adopted her.
Denise says, "Since we are both self-employed, we don't have the insurance to cover those kinds of costs."
So, they turned her down and waited. Then, they got the video of little Olga, who they later named Tait. The experts found nothing on the tape to indicate any problems with Olga.
So the couple got into the next stage of the adoption process -- traveling to Russia to meet the child and go through the government red tape.
"Russian bureaucracy is unbelievable," Ken says.
The Newmans say the Russian authorities ask prospective parents questions about how they feel about taking a child with a disability and what level of disability they can handle.
They were also provided some information on Tait's background. "They gave us some very skimpy information," Denise says. "We know that the birth mother was 23, that it was her third pregnancy, and that Tait was a 34-week preemie."
Now, they report, she shows no adverse effects of having been born prematurely -- in fact she's tall for her age.
And Tait isn't the only child who found a home through the Newmans. Ken says they also were told about another child, a 5-year-old blind girl who had been taught how to manage with her disability in the orphanage but who would probably live out her life in an institution if she wasn't adopted by an American family.
He says they agreed to adopt her if no one else could be found -- and when they got back to the United States, he asked the adoption agency to help find parents for the little girl. He says that a Mormon family with five children of their own has adopted the little blind girl, who he says now "bikes, skies, takes dance classes."

For further information, contact Ken Newman at 111-111-1111

I contacted Ken the same day and he agreed to meet with us. He was so passionate about his adoption he gathered his wife Denise and beautiful daughter Tait and arranged to meet us for lunch. It was during this lunch date we learned about adoption from Russia. Ken walked us thru their journey beginning with the paper chase and ending with their precious daughter. No question was off limits and we felt we had a good handle on what to expect.
When we returned home from that vacation I immediately began my internet search for an International Adoption Agency. After many searches and discussions I contacted an agency called ASA and was provided with a loose leaf binder of information and a video tape which to date I still have not looked at. I also was given the business card of the International Adoption Director. For some reason that I cannot explain our adoption was not to be at that point in our lives so the binder, video and business card were placed in a closet where it sat for 3 more years.

Rewind to May 2005

2007-10-19T08:31:00.000-07:00

We are the Young's from Long Island, New York. My name is Ann, and the reason for this rewind is to replay our adoption journey in its entirety, including this time the unnecessary heartbreak we as a family endured. As many visitors of our original blog have read ( Young Family Adoption Miracle ) we successfully adopted our daughter Leah from the city of Ust Kamenogorsk in Kazakhstan. However at the time of our adoption a private story was also unfolding and it became painfully clear 6 months after signing a contract with AIP that this agency had questionable and unethical practices.
Since the completion of our adoption many other families who signed on with AIP experienced the same type of devastating emotional pain therefore I feel compelled to document my experience in the hopes that our story will warn others about these types of adoption practices. What you will read in the following days are my opinions,observations,experiences and perceptions of the journey our family experienced adopting our beautiful daughter Leah.
For anyone in the adoption community who knows of our story, was a part of our story, or would like to add their opinion about our story to this blog I invite your comments.
As I begin this blog I come to realize this will be a living blog with a story that is continuing to unfold with a criminal investigation on going in California and a group of people coming together in the process of filing a civil suit to stop AIP and its owners from ever hurting innocent people again.
I pray this blog will help effect change and make the International Adoption journey just a bit easier....