White-Colar Crime
Lawyer Ran ‘Adoption Ponzi Scheme,’ Prosecutors Say
Posted Sep 29, 2009, 11:28 am CST
By Martha Neil
The claimed list of victims is growing in what prosecutors are calling an "adoption Ponzi scheme" allegedly operated by a New York lawyer.
Kevin Cohen, 41, is accused of bilking couples out of hundreds of thousands of dollars by promising them they would be able to adopt babies that didn't exist, according to Newsday and the Associated Press.
Prosecutors say he gained the couples' trust in part by faking sonograms and other documentation, reports a local CBS affiliate.
Cohen has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree grand larceny, first-degree scheme to defraud and third-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, and his lawyer says it would be premature to comment.
Additional coverage:
New York Post: "LI attorney's adoption-scam toll growing: DA"