By Richard Balagtas

Many couples struggle with conception. Fortunately, advancements in medical technologies have produced alternative methods for conceiving children, including in-vitro fertilization and surrogacy. These options are often stressful for the individuals who undergo them; one can only imagine the nightmare some families went through when they discovered they’d been swindled.

“Forty families, desperate for kids, paid Allison Layton tens of thousands for the promise of parenthood. But the babies never came.”

Allison Layton claimed to be the director of Miracles Egg Donation and Surrogacy. Layton and her now ex-husband created the fraudulent business together, but her “underhanded tactics in the surrogacy business” eventually ran him off. She used the sums sent to her by expectant parents to fund her expensive lifestyle. The organization’s website featured sepia-hued images of young children playing together and newborns smiling into the eyes of expectant parents. The website boasted that the company had established a worldwide network, with hubs in California, Australia, and Europe. The website also contained “testimonials” laden with incredibly emotional language from allegedly satisfied parents.

Last Thursday, Allison Layton pleaded guilty in a Los Angeles federal court to having swindled away over $300,000 worth of dreams from hopeful parents.

One of her relatives stated, “It all boils down to morals. If you cheat people, you take advantage of so many more.”

Read the full article here.