LilMtnCbn
06-24-2004, 08:34 AM
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/Jun/24/ln/ln42a.html
Kaua'i woman pleads guilty in adoption scheme
Associated Press
SEATTLE — A Kaua'i woman accused of fraud in arranging American adoptions of
Cambodian children pleaded guilty to federal charges yesterday.
Lauryn Galindo, 52, of Hanalei, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit visa
fraud, conspiracy to launder money and "structuring" — purchasing $30,000
worth of cashier's checks in amounts under $10,000 to avoid federal
bank-reporting requirements.
At issue are 18 adoptions — among hundreds in which Galindo was involved
since the early 1990s — arranged between 1997 and 2001.
Galindo represented the children as orphans when she knew they had "at least
one living parent," Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Lord said.
Other facts — names, dates of birth, relatives and physical characteristics
— also were misrepresented to U.S. officials, the plea agreement said. The
money-laundering charge concerns more than $153,000 in wire transfers to
Cambodian accounts from adoptive parents.
Children in the 18 adoptions were identified only by initials in court
documents.
Galindo and her sister, Lynn Devin of suburban Mercer Island, ran the
now-shuttered Seattle International Adoptions. Devin pleaded guilty in December
to falsifying documents to obtain U.S. visas for Cambodian children. She's
scheduled for sentencing Aug. 6.
The U.S. government plans to take no action that would jeopardize the residency
status of Cambodian children in the United States who were adopted through the
agency, U.S. Attorney John McKay said.
At her scheduled Sept. 24 sentencing, Galindo could face as many as 20 years in
prison, but federal public defender Colin Feiman said he anticipates a
"significantly lower" sentence.
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
Kaua'i woman pleads guilty in adoption scheme
Associated Press
SEATTLE — A Kaua'i woman accused of fraud in arranging American adoptions of
Cambodian children pleaded guilty to federal charges yesterday.
Lauryn Galindo, 52, of Hanalei, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit visa
fraud, conspiracy to launder money and "structuring" — purchasing $30,000
worth of cashier's checks in amounts under $10,000 to avoid federal
bank-reporting requirements.
At issue are 18 adoptions — among hundreds in which Galindo was involved
since the early 1990s — arranged between 1997 and 2001.
Galindo represented the children as orphans when she knew they had "at least
one living parent," Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Lord said.
Other facts — names, dates of birth, relatives and physical characteristics
— also were misrepresented to U.S. officials, the plea agreement said. The
money-laundering charge concerns more than $153,000 in wire transfers to
Cambodian accounts from adoptive parents.
Children in the 18 adoptions were identified only by initials in court
documents.
Galindo and her sister, Lynn Devin of suburban Mercer Island, ran the
now-shuttered Seattle International Adoptions. Devin pleaded guilty in December
to falsifying documents to obtain U.S. visas for Cambodian children. She's
scheduled for sentencing Aug. 6.
The U.S. government plans to take no action that would jeopardize the residency
status of Cambodian children in the United States who were adopted through the
agency, U.S. Attorney John McKay said.
At her scheduled Sept. 24 sentencing, Galindo could face as many as 20 years in
prison, but federal public defender Colin Feiman said he anticipates a
"significantly lower" sentence.
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
