SEATTLE — FBI agents have arrested a woman in Seattle who is charged in Florida on 17 counts of mail fraud in an alleged adoption scheme, a U.S. attorney announced Friday.
Victoria Benning, who authorities say has used six different names, is accused of defrauding 16 families across the country of $14,900 — about $900 per family, said Mac Cauley, U.S. attorney in Tampa, Fla.
The woman had been living in Largo, Fla., running a business licensed under the name All for the Child.
FBI officials in Seattle referred all calls to the Miami FBI. Calls to that office were not immediately returned Friday.
In a statement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said the woman is accused of falsely telling families she could facilitate their adoption of a baby, falsely claiming she knew pregnant women interested in giving their babies up, and requiring that interested families mail her an advance fee, usually $900. She then diverted the money for her personal use, Cauley alleged. The scheme operated from March to June 2000, the statement said.
Boys charged in school vandalism: Keizer police have arrested four teen-agers accused of causing about $50,000 in damage to a middle school under construction last weekend. All were charged with burglary, criminal mischief and arson. On Sunday, the boys went to Claggett Creek Middle School, police said. Using keys stolen weeks ago, they drove pieces of machinery on the ground floor of the school. Initially they were just racing, but once they hit a wall, they started hitting others, breaking drywall and steel framework, Barker said. They moved upstairs to the second floor and kicked and poked holes in the walls. They poured flammable glue on the walls and tried unsuccessfully to start a fire, Barker said.
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