Birth mom charged in adoption fraud case locked up on new bond violation

A birth mother charged in a nationwide adoption fraud case has been locked up once again. Enhelica Wiggins appeared in U. S. District Court in Detroit Thursday to face a Federal Magistrate Judge, after she turned herself in Wednesday night. Wiggins is accused of violating her bond.

The 29-year-old from Saginaw had previously placed children through unlicensed Macomb County adoption worker Tara Lee.

Lee is charged with 23 counts of wire fraud, and 1 count of aggravated identity theft.

More >> Birth mom charged in adoption fraud case locked up on new bond violation

Judge keeps Macomb County mom in adoption fraud case locked up

A Macomb County mother at the center of a national adoption fraud case will stay behind bars until her trial. That’s the decision of a federal judge who said Tara Lee has shown a lack of respect for the law.

Tara Lee looked visibly nervous while in court Tuesday; her legs were shaking and at one point she seemed like she was near tears. Lee also tried to apologize to the Judge Bernard Friedman for her behavior, but he stopped her to keep her from possibly incriminating herself.

More >> Judge keeps Macomb County mom in adoption fraud case locked up

Detroit dad searching for daughters learns 1 was murdered, the other abused while under mother's care

Deonte Hill tells WXYZ his ex left with his two little girls more than a year ago. Since, he has been looking for them. He got word at times that they were in Louisiana or California. He never could get the exact location.

He now is learning that as he searched the Mississippi Department of Child Protective Services investigated numerous reports of abuse against his 4-year-old Armani Hill and her 3-year-old sister Lailah Hill.

More >> Detroit dad searching for daughters learns 1 was murdered, the other abused while under mother's care

Flint Charges Dropped: Michigan Dismisses Criminal Cases But Will Continue Probe

Eight remaining Flint water prosecutions have been dismissed by the Department of Attorney General, officials said Thursday, June 13.

Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud and Wayne County Prosecutor Kym L. Worthy issued a statement saying the cases are being dismissed without prejudice -- meaning they could be refiled -- in order to conduct a full and complete investigation, a shocking conclusion to the high-profile criminal prosecutions.

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'The system failed him.' Dad did everything right to get custody, but he didn't and she was murdered

In an apartment on Second St. on Monday, June 3, Brighton Police found a horrific scene. A mom strangled her little girl, and then shot and killed herself. Now, many are looking back and seeing red flags. Could Bella have been saved?

Brighton Police say an autopsy found 38-year-old Melissa Freiberger-Partee took a revolver and shot herself in the head after drugging Bella and strangling her to death.

More >> 'The system failed him.' Dad did everything right to get custody, but he didn't and she was murdered

Reunification Month honors foster care children reuniting with their families

In Kent County, there are about 850 children in foster care at any given time. June is National Reunification Month, and local nonprofit West Michigan Partnership for Children is encouraging the community to remember the youth in foster care.

Reunification Day and the entire month-long celebration honors the reunification of children who have spent time in the foster care system with their families. It also celebrates the accomplishments of families who have overcome an array of challenges to reunify safely and successfully.

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Records: Father warned officials of child abuse, mental health issues before girl's death

A Brighton mother who killed her 5-year-old daughter before taking her own life was investigated by police and state officials for child abuse less than two years ago and the child's father accused her of having mental health issues.

Melissa Partee killed her 5-year-old daughter, Isabella, before killing herself in her Brighton apartment. Their bodies were found around noon Monday. Police haven't indicated when either might have died.

The child’s father, Nathan Younkin, called the Shelby Township Police Department on Sept.11, 2017, and reported Partee was physically abusing Isabella.

More >> Records: Father warned officials of child abuse, mental health issues before girl's death

Wayne County judge accused of hiding abuse of grandson taken off family court

A family court judge accused of covering up child abuse has new duties.

After FOX 2 investigator ML Elrick revealed that the judge's grandson said she used make-up to hide up his bruises, her boss reviewed the matter.

More >> Wayne County judge accused of hiding abuse of grandson taken off family court

Michigan girl, foster sister killed in car wreck days before H.S. graduation

Communities in the western Upper Peninsula are grieving over the deaths of two teenagers who died in a crash just before the end of the school year.

Lauren Powless and 15-year-old Madeline Jackson were students at Johnston Junior and Senior High School in Bessemer. Powless was 18 and would have graduated Friday.

More >> Michigan girl, foster sister killed in car wreck days before H.S. graduation

Metro Detroit family battles to keep adopted son with violent history in psychiatric hospital

A Metro Detroit family's adopted son, who has threatened to kill them, is currently in a psychiatric treatment hospital.

Now, the family says the state of Michigan is threatening to charge them with neglect if they don't take their 16-year-old adopted son, Alex, home. The family is terrified and they have filed a lawsuit.

More >> Metro Detroit family battles to keep adopted son with violent history in psychiatric hospital

Wayne County family court judge accused of helping cover up child abuse of own grandson

A Wayne County family court judge is being accused of helping her son cover up abuse of her grandson - but she says none of it's true.

Tracy Green is a judge at the Wayne County Family Court. Her job is to determine whether children are being abused and to protect them. Her grandson says she not only ignored how her son - who is his father - on beat his kids, he says she covered it up.

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Faith-based adoption agency sue so they can legally turn away LGBTI parents

A faith-based adoption agency is suing the state of Michigan after they made it illegal for state-funded agencies to discriminate against LGBTI parents.

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty filed the lawsuit on Monday (15 April) on behalf of St Vincent Catholic Charities.

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Foster parent in Muskegon charged with criminal sexual conduct

A licensed foster care parent is facing criminal charges in Muskegon County.

Mark Sorensen, 60, is facing two counts of 1st degree criminal sexual conduct.  It is unclear at this time what he is alleged to have done.

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Adoption agency sues state over new gay adoption rules

An adoptive mother and a Michigan faith-based adoption agency are challenging a recent state settlement that bans state contracts with foster and adoption agencies that refuse to work with gay couples.

St. Vincent Catholic Charities and Melissa Buck, a mother of five special needs kids adopted through St. Vincent, filed a federal lawsuit Monday alleging the new rules violated the group’s First Amendment rights. The group is represented by religious liberty group, Becket Law.

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Feds: Mom charged in adoption fraud scheme made $1.6 million

In new court records just filed, federal prosecutors reveal Tara Lynn Lee took in more than $1.6 million dollars in 2017 and 2018. The 7 Investigators first showed you how the unlicensed adoption worker was under investigation, accused of promising the same baby to more than one couple. FBI agents say the 37-year-old mother from New Haven also “matched” couples across the country to birth moms and babies who did not exist. The feds say Lee would charge prospective adoptive couples between $10,000 and $33,000 once they “matched” with a birth mom.

The new court records give us a look at just how much money prosecutors say Lee took in: “Review of Defendant’s bank statements show that she received business-related gross proceeds of over $600,000 in 2017, and over $1,070,000 in 2018.”

More >> Feds: Mom charged in adoption fraud scheme made $1.6 million

Reports on Michigan child welfare 'depressing,' says judge

Michigan's new governor has inherited a troubled child-welfare system that has failed to protect foster kids from abuse and operates with a faulty computer network that might need to be scrapped after just five years, experts reported Wednesday.

A judge got an update on a case that is far from over, despite 13 years of litigation and $27 million spent on court-appointed monitors and lawyers to try to fix how the state cares for children who are removed from homes because of abuse and neglect.

More >> Reports on Michigan child welfare 'depressing,' says judge

Family sobs as Macomb County mom's bond revoked in adoption scheme

With her family members sobbing in the courtroom, a Macomb County mother at the center of a nationwide adoption investigation has lost her freedom for violating multiple bond conditions: She tampered with witnesses, contacted victims, used a cellphone and tried to broker adoptions.

She had promised not to do these things, the judge reminded her in court. But she did them anyway — and even texted and FaceTimed her victims on the same day she signed her bond papers, prosecutors said.

More >> Family sobs as Macomb County mom's bond revoked in adoption scheme

Michigan woman charged with defrauding couples in adoptions

A Macomb County woman has been indicted on fraud charges for an alleged scheme to collect money from couples who wanted to adopt children.

Federal prosecutors say Tara Lee of New Haven isn't licensed to arrange adoptions but told people that she had a legitimate agency. The indictment accuses her of collecting more than $200,000 last year for adoption matches that were fraudulent.

More >> Michigan woman charged with defrauding couples in adoptions

Rape. Sex trafficking. Is Detroit youth home endangering girls?

They're among metro Detroit's most vulnerable children: teenage girls who have been abused, neglected or suffer from mental health issues.

But the place that's supposed to protect them is putting many in harm's way, police and court records allege.

More >> Rape. Sex trafficking. Is Detroit youth home endangering girls?

Bethany: Migrant children still being separated from parents at border

An executive from a Michigan foster services agency says migrant children are still being separated from their families at the Southern border, and that Trump administration policies are making it difficult to reunite them.

The vice president of the Grand Rapids-based Bethany Christian Services said her agency cared for 108 migrant children forcibly separated under the administration's policy. Staffers worked "diligently" to locate their families and reunited them within 54 days on average. 

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