The women allegedly recruited surrogates and sent them to the Ukraine for embryo implantation with donor eggs and sperm. In the Ukraine the implantation procedure could take place without the documentation that US doctors require. According to California law, a woman must enter into a surrogacy arrangement prior to implantation, rather than after, thus preventing the sale of parental rights for the purpose of profit.
Once the surrogates reached the second trimester of pregnancy, Erickson, Neiman, and Chambers would search for ''buyers'' and demand more than $100,000 in fees. Potential parents were led to believe that the couple who initially planned to adopt the baby had deserted the deal. The defendants successfully arranged adoptions with twelve couples under these false pretenses. The defendants managed to obtain pre-birth judgments, allowing the adoptive parents to be listed on the infant's birth certificate, by falsely reporting to the San Diego Superior Court that the surrogacy agreement was arranged prior to pregnancy. According to Assistant US Attorney Jason A. Forge, the defendants also misreported the identities of the egg and sperm donors.
Erickson has further admitted to falsifying applications that were submitted to the California State Insurance Department on behalf of the surrogates. According to prosecutors, the state provided more than $20,000 in state insurance coverage for the surrogates, who were actually ineligible for the program.
The FBI first investigated the matter after surrogates and others voiced concern over the operation. Gestational carriers received anywhere from $38,000 to $45,000 in compensation for carrying a baby to term. However, there have also been reports from surrogates who claim that they miscarried late in the pregnancy and were left with the associated medical bills and funeral costs.
Prosecutors assert that Erickson earned an estimated $70,000 in profits through the ''baby-selling ring.'' She will be required to pay each of the twelve adoptive couples $10,000 and will also be forced to pay as much as $250,000 in government fines. Erickson will be sentenced on October 28, 2011 and may face as many as five years in prison. Chamber and Neiman will also be sentenced in October.
According to Forge, the couples who adopted the babies were unaware of the scheme and will not be faced with any charges. ''I would hope that the case enlightens legislators in terms of the vulnerability of the parents who want children and the need for additional protection for them and the carriers and the babies,'' said Forge.
Erickson, who has now shut down her website, posted a Facebook note last week asking those who know her and the public to withhold all judgment on the case until she has had the opportunity to ''share the real story.''
