Adoption Agency Charged With RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act)
I have permission from Amy to post this blog from her website. It is an excellent account of deceit and corruption in an adoption that happened not in a third world country where people are scratching out a living to feed themselves, but here in the U.S. Read it and weep.
Before I go into details on this RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) lawsuit, I also want to go into the funds, people and organizations behind what has happened to these individuals in this lawsuit. There were several parties involved in working out this situation. This lawsuit was filed in federal district court in Maryland on September 9, 2008.
Project OZ which is no longer in business. Here are the statistics from their last IRS Form 990 from Guidestar. Their tax forms were done in North Carolina but with a Maryland CPA firm.
Gross Receipts -$1,798,106. Public support $ 13,337 Program revenue $1,784,769 Kerry Palakanis, CEO, earned $71,984 Their board of directors include: Dina Mouriski was a director. Annette Brady was a director. Kimberly Wood was a director. Kerry Palakanis was the CEO. Erica Ploski was an executive director Jane Katherine Conway was an executive director.
Main contractors were Consultants International which earned $158,500. This Gloria Campaneros earned $210,790. Even though I know Gloria's name from other agencies, I can't find anything on either organization.
Adoption Supervisors is another organization that has helped out many of these adoptive parents in finishing their adoptions or giving them information on the PGN problems.
Catholic Charities did one of the home studies for two of the plaintiffs. When the plaintiffs contacted them for help, this agency treated them rudely and offered no help.
Dakar, L.L.C. is the name of Kerry Palakanis' consulting firm. There is no documents or websites to this firm on the internet. This consulting firm of Kerry Palakanis was also receiving adoption funds. Money from adoptive parents were being redirected to this firm in order to hide the money.
According to the Rico lawsuit, Nancy Hoffman was asked to be one of the adoption facilitators for Project Oz. She was a travel agent very familiar with the adoptive parents coming into Guatemala. She was approached by Nancy Bailey who ran the Semillas de Amor orphanage along with their charity, Seeds of Love. According to the lawsuit, this organization was based out of California. They must have moved their operation to North Carolina. On May 12, 2008, Semillas de Amor was raided by the PGN according to this news article. Kerry Palakanis asked Nancy Hoffman to pay adoptive parents expenses while she was pocketing the funds and not paying the facilitator. Nancy herself is out over $58,000. She is one of the plaintiffs in this case. It does get more interesting.
Their IRS Form 990 is very interesting in itself. Ms. Bailey started requiring adoptive parents to pay $1,000.00 to her charity, Seeds of Love. According to Guidestar.org:
Contributions received $66,019.68 in 2006 Board of Directors: Nancy Bailey is the president of this organization. Ann Herfundahl is the secretary. Peggy Palen is the vice president. Kerry Palakanis is the treasurer.
Nancy Bailey is an interesting character herself. The COA accredits adoption agencies, debt consolidation companies, and employee assistance programs. Guess what Nancy used to do? She founded her own business, Employee Health Plus, to provide employee assistance program to various corporations. She has served on both national and local EAP professional board of directors. She also has a degree in psychology. She has deep connections with the COA (Council on Adoption)..
Once upon a time there was an adoption agency called 1st Steps International Adoption Aide, Inc. It was run by Lin Strasser although on their IRS Form 990 she was the secretary of this agency. It was out of Pennsylvania by owner Lin Strasser. Pennsylvania however shut them down in 2004. One key person, Kerry Palakanis was working for this agency as Executive Director. She then created the sister agency to 1st Steps, 1st Steps Project Oz. It was changed again to Project Oz. This agency is now under a RICO civil lawsuit. This complaint has been filed September 9,2008.
The history behind this adoption agency is pretty horrifying. The agency was initially started in Montana in 2000. Then again the agency was incorporated again in Delaware in 2001. It was then granted a license in August 2003 by the state of Maryland. They had offices in Maryland, North Carolina, Illinois, and Pennsylvania.
In 1996, Kerry Palakanis declared bankruptcy. When she began working with Lin Strasser as co-owner, that should have put a stop to her notorious adoption career but it didn't. When 1st Steps International shut its doors, Ms. Palakanis had 14 charges of embezzlement against her but she moved onto Maryland to start Project Oz adoptions. Her adoption agency was licensed in four states, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and North Carolina. She closed her offices in Illinois in 2006 due to the Illinois Adoption Reform Act. That Act involved the predatory practices of adoption agencies such as in the case of Baby Tamia. Two questions come to mind. Was Project Oz licensed really in Illinois? If so what kind of predatory operations were they involved in to get them kicked out of Illinois?
In March of 2008 Project Oz was denied Hague Accreditation and in May of this year had their license suspended by the state of Maryland. Project Oz was also a member of the JCICS in 2003. JCICS is a sponsor of the COA.
When I googled Kerry Palakanis, I discovered that her family had some severe issues in April 2008. It looks like this was the year that her world fell apart. Her daughter age 16, Lara, ran away with a twenty year old man. Kerry and her husband, David, also used to own a cafe in Tarboro, NC. called Main Street Cafe. They also owned the Underground Pub in Tarboro. So Ms. Palakanis was a very busy woman.
One of the plaintiffs is AJ. She is the minor in this case. Her story is a sad one. While at one of the orphanages (probably Semillas de Amor as that is who Project Oz worked with and was raided), AJ was sexually molested. AJ was placed with her first set of adoptive parents. AJ became increasingly more disruptive and the adoptive mother could not handle her. She contacted Kerry and the agency. The agency without prior ICPC approval went to California and brought the child back to Maryland to be placed in the state of Maryland's foster care system. Until the foster placement, the child stayed temporarily with the Kerry and her family. Once foster parents were found, they were forced to sign a "at risk" placement agreement. This child again acted out and became aggressive. She was then placed with the Rozenbroeks. The staff of Project Oz would not give this family any background on AJ. In fact, the agency went before a judge and provided false information of what happened in the first disruption. Project Oz and Kerry Palakanis knew of the sexual abuse that this child suffered and chose to keep that information from the all of the adoptive parents. This agency then charged both families $25,000 a piece for the two adoptions of the same child. This child is now sadly in residential treatment. This poor child has been through hell all because of the actions of this adoption agency.
Another adoptive parent, Theresa, was threatened when she contacted outside sources to help her find out information on her adoption. She threatened her with agency directed counseling which is in direct violation of the U.S. Orphan Act. Theresa said that she would not complete the counseling until she verified that Kerry Palakanis had the authority to do so. When she contacted a PGN attorney, that is when she found out that Project Oz was working with an Guatemala adoption facilitator not an attorney. She kept requested updates. The agency intentionally lied to her about her case and the updates on the child that she was adopting.
It gets worse as you read the lawsuit. These adoption agencies need to be held accountable for their actions. These folks are hurting adoptees, natural parents here in the United States and overseas and the adoptive parents here in the United States. This agency had connections to an orphanage, the JCICS, the COA, and EAP programs across America. These people have way too much power over the lives of those living adoption.
Commonwealth Adoptions International, you are next.
Image Credit: flickr
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Kerry and Lynn
I believe that Kerry Palakanis and Lin Strasser met because they used the same independent Ukrainian adoption facilitor. I was on an email list with them back in 2000. I heard rumors that one of them was providing "therapy" for RAD children. If you have any interest, you can always look at old copies of Project Oz's web site; http://web.archive.org/web/*/www.projectoz.com.
http://web.archive.org/web/20021207220029/projectoz.com/officeandstaff.htm has a picture of Kerry and a description.
I remembered Lin's adoption was in 2000... the same year that I adopted from Ukraine. Her old blog can be found here; http://web.archive.org/web/20001206211000/http://linstrasser.tripod.com/independentukraineadoption/
AngelaW
The ones that you love the most are usually the ones that hurt you the most. - Unknown
Semillas de Amor
I would recommend that you do a little homework about me, Nancy Bailey, as well as Semillas de Amor. Spreading lies and rumors about my children's home and the work I have done in Guatemala for the last 15 years is not only irresponsible but nasty. It must be very nice to sit back in your comfy lifestyle and point the finger at people who are doing the work that you could never do. I wonder how long you would last dealing with the insanity of the Guatemalan government? Yeah, it sounds REAL suspicious that I would ask families to donate $1000.00 toward the construction of a $350,000.00 children's home. That, by the way, is constructed and in operation. A beautiful home for children that they have every right to live in. Wow, that sounds like a real criminal act. How dare you write such lies about me and make such crazy connections. You have no clue about me or my work. Maybe you need to find out before you spread lies and damage children who have done nothing to you. I feel very sorry for people like you that live such ignorant lives.
Nancy Bailey
Our website www.semillasdeamor.org
Hmmmmmm......
I am the one that wrote that article. According to the State Department's website, you are still under investigation. The charges have not been cleared for you. I have been researching you for quite a while now. Lets see, you have connections to Gladney. I read and printed what an adoptive parent blogger wrote about you whom it appeared that you were hell bent on humiliating. You have connections to Fundaninos whose website is uncannily similar to yours. I also know that Minnesota's Lutheran Social Services has also used your services. You might want to read that RICO court case. That is where the information is coming from. How are you able to build this huge facility when you don't have income for it? Where are you getting the money because you are not reporting your income via the IRS? You are still an American citizen. I have also heard reports that you live in a very lush house in Guatemala. You live in a far better environment compared to those precious orphans. Why was Kerry Palakanis on your Board of Directors for your charity? I still have quite a few questions. I will find all the answers.
Our little lost Maria
In 2004 my husband and I were invited to Lin Strasser's home for a potential adoption of a little girl, age 8. We didn't know Strasse's 1st Steps Adoption was in the process of being shut down. We paid her $4,000 and took the child home; again unknowing of inter-state laws pertaining to moving minor children. We did have a valid home study. Lin flew out after three weeks and took a sobbing child away from me at the airport where I had been ordered to take her. I understand the child went home to Lin's and possibly was again sold to another unsuspecting hopeful adoptive family. The tragedy here is that we never heard what happened to this little girl and it is killing me. My husband died a year and 4 months ago and we never got over the loss. I am afraid the child might be institutionalized. Lin Strasser was shut down and the ICPC office was notified of the illegal activities done with the child. They told me she was a very sad case and had possibly been placed in 4 other homes before coming to ours. The reason Lin took her away from us, so she said, was because we put her in kindergarten against her previous Kentucky adoptive parent's wishes. Since they were disrupting this adoption, why should they have cared. We wanted to give her all the help and socialization she had missed in her Kentucky home. I can't tell you how hard we tried for the 3 weeks we had her to make her happy, feel totally welcomed and loved, and give her every thing Lin suggested. These included a trampoline, new shoes, walks in a nature park, a puppy, visits from grandma and grandpa who adored her, and endless hugs and cuddles. I will never forget her.
Your little girl
Carole:
I am sorry to hear of your losses.
Did you only deal with Lin or did you also deal with Kerry Palakanis??? Was ICPC able to give you any insight into these practices and were you able to do anything against 1st Steps? My story is VERY similar to yours...
Facts vs fiction
I would urge you to get your facts straight. Just because someone worked for an agency does not mean they had any involvement in the operations of the finances or was privy to the events taking place. I found this because I happened to google my name and was horrified to see that you are trying to slander me in your blog/article/research.
I was not an Executive Director. I completed home studies and post placements. I did not have anything to do with any curruption or anything unethical. As a case worker I met a lot of wonderful families and never had any complaints for my work. I still keep in touch with those families and celebrate their milestones and loved the work that I did.
As a contractual employee I did not have anything to do with the finances of the agency or any operations. I met reguarly with the DPW representatives from Pittsburgh and made sure that this PA office always followed the conduct expected by a licensed agency.
I would ask that you please do not include my name in any future postings, as I have done nothing wrong, would never do anything to hurt or hram adoptive families (I am an adoptive mother--I understand the vulnerabilities) and cherish my work with families.
Blessings--
Erica
Check Guidestar
That is exactly what the IRS Form 990 stated about you. Go to Guidestar.org and look for yourself. I have reported only what I see. If this isn't true, you should contact the IRS and Kerry Palakanis about that issue.
Edited to add: No Ms. Ploski I will not call you via telephone. As an adoptee I am not big on trust. With the issues surrounding Project Oz and the fact that you are considering opening another adoption agency, I am even more distrustful.
Your post
As you wish--you want to believe what you see on paper and not from the source, that is up to you. Not a really thorough way of investigating but I guess everyone has their styles.
I cannot control what anyone filed on documents about me. I had nothing to do with any of the agency business besides doing home studies in PA and I did them promptly, efficiently and ethically. I have never encountered anyone in PA that was uphappy and took great care to provide a quiality service that was supportive and caring. Do you honestly believe that everyone on the internet is true? You have never met me and do not know me--why the axe to grind? Why would you try to hurt people that had nothing to do with the business operations just because you read it online?
I am dedicated to adoption work and participate in the practice with great caution and care. Slandering me is like throwing the baby out with the bath water. I had no knowlesge of and no involvement in the business aspects of the agency. Geez--do you think that all of the people that worked for Enron were guilty? No--only those in charge. I met with the DPW people and some others and gave them all I knew--which was not much--and everything was cleared here in PA.
You mention having trust issues because you are an adoptee. Not all adoptee have trust issues. I hope that this works out for you.
PS) Anyone wishing to verify the investigation by DPW can call the investigator Elaine Bobick or email her at ebobick@state.pa.us.
Excuse me again
I did not slander you. I said that you were listed as an executive director on the tax forms. I do have the tax forms in front of me. They state that you were an executive director since at least 2003. I have in front of me the documents concerning the incorporation of your adoption agency, Alliance For Children, Inc. You plan on operating in Massachusetts. It states that it is a business corporation working in foreign countries. It is all online and available for everyone to see. You even have the same address as Project Oz listed on this incorporation form. Give me a break. Its not slander when I have the facts and documentation to prove it. You may not be corrupt but you have a lot of eery coincidences going for ya. If you have an issue that you think might warrant Joni Fixell's attention, then address her. This is all public documents.
You are the one that went to Valerie Myers, a reporter in Meadville, and stated that you were starting a new adoption agency. That you even ran Project Oz adoption agency. So did you or did not run the Pennsylvania/Maryland agency?
For folks following this:
https://www.corporations.state.pa.us/corp/soskb/Corp.asp?2735723
http://dynamodata.fdncenter.org/990s/990search/esearch.php
http://dynamodata.fdncenter.org/990s/990search/esearch.php
http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081128/CRAW/311289956...
Reply
It is slander when you are printing my name with something that is untrue--no matter what is on the internet. It is slander when you draw conclusions that are not true based on minimal information. You do not pring the truth and instead of being an accurate reporter, you stand behind misinformation just because it was listed on the internet. It is slander because you are trying to hurt me vieled with the argument that "it is public record"...if you know everything then you would know that I am not being investigated, not being charged and not involved in this. I offered you an opprtunity to speak with you about what happened but you declined--not very nicely--and alluded that I was not worthy of trust. You write that I have some "eerie conincidences" and that statement in itself is eerie because there is nothing to tell--only what someone can make up.
I was a case worker and not a director. I as not part of the operations and had I know what was going on I would have gotten out sooner. I am not being charged and not being investigated for anything. I notice that you did not mention all of the other employees names that were on the IRS forms. I never had anything to do with the MD agency--that was run by Kerry alone. She ran the adoption programs and performed all of the business functions. I came ito this as an adoptive parent wanting to help--I had no knowledge of how to run a business and would never presume to try to run anything like this. I got my feet wet by attending trainings and learning from my DPW rep, immigration employees, and the most valubale recource, the families themselves.
I did not "go" to Vaerie. We were working on another story together for a community issue and we had a conversation about adoptions. She was interested in knowing more and thought that was a good story. Why is that offensive? I did not tell Valerie that I was a director--I told her that I was an employee and that I did home studies and post placements. Either way it does not matter--your intent on the posting is clearly to make everyone you metioned look bad, when there was one person running the whole show.
You write with an air of anger and you do not know the whole history, the operations of the PA office and do know what is true or not true. Public records do not speak for the truth. I did not file those tax returns. I had no business dealings in the agency. I made very minimal money for the agency because I did so much work for free and at reduced rates to help people in need adopt. We were adoptive parents 6 years ago and we know how scary it is, how vulnerable one can feel and how the adoptive paretns come to the agency with other like infertility, loss, marital stress, pressure from family etc.
I am not getting why you are so angry. I never did anything wrong to you or to any adoptive family. Again I ask--why the ax to grind? If you were a through reporter you would speak to sources and not just believe something that you read. I have kept in touch with my families in PA--exchanging emails, photos, cards etc.I have a list of numbers and names of those families and would be happy to share them.
You have your facts wrong about the new adoption agency, but since you trust everything you read I will refrain. If anyone else wants to know about Alliance then I am more than happy to elborate. I am not working in MA.
I am not sure what incorporation form you are speaking of but I did not put out any forms with anything to do with Project Oz. I have no idea who Joni is--never met or spoke with anyone by that name. My home address was on the IRS form from what I can because that is where I live...everyone's home address was on the IRS form. I had a business line coming into home for the agency for 2 years because the billing arrangement was miscommunicated and the local phone nook listed the agency as my home number instead of sending the bill to MD. Then we got agency mail at home on occasion but there was nothing we could really do about that.
BTW Valerie does not work out of Meadville. She works in another city.
ERICA -
Erica,
I find it unbelievable that you act so innocent. You in fact did know what Kerry was doing. YOu say you had nothing to do with the MD office? We went through the MD office and you were involved in our case. You sat on a phone call with Kerry, Dave, my husband and I. You listened and agreed with them telling us to "get counseling". The threats being made about taking our referral away. That was illegal and you sat there through the whole thing. How many other adoptive parents did you do this too? The pain and heartache we were put through, you were right there on the phone!
Don't patronize someone who went through a painful adoption by asking "why the ax to grind". The thing is we aren't going away. The adoptive families that were hurt by Project Oz are banning together. You were a part of an agency that is being sued. Just because they don't have enough to include you does not make you innocent. It truly breaks my heart to see you continue in the adoption world. But I will wait for you to fall just as I did Kerry.
You say you had no families in Penn that were unhappy? What about the family that was adoption a little boy right before us. They had the same attorney as we did. I understand they never brought their son home? Are they pleased with you? Are you saying you didn't know what they went through?
You can remove the Halo.. No one is buying it..
Amy
Slander? Yeah.
Oh my! Here's poor Erica HOWLING in faux, indignent (sp) PROTEST about being called out on her OBVIOUS past with the likes of Palakanis & Co.
Well my dear, can you tell me WHY your new address so closely resembles the OLD POZ address that Palakanis had in Meadville? Care to elaborate? I'm providing a fact here. Shriek "SLANDER" all you want - but all you're going to get is FACTS. POZ's OLD PA address:
Project Oz Adoptions, Inc.
310 Chestnut Street, Suite 221
Meadville, PA 16335
Phone: (814) 333-4201
The article written in the local yokel rag says your address is 310 Chestnut Street. Say WHAT??? Keep in mind, DON'T ADVERTISE if you don't want to be hauled on the carpet.
You know what else? Your face was up on POZ's old website. Don't you remember? I certainly do. I've been down too long NOT to have remembered. You see Erica, there are those of us who remember alot. Don't think we've gone away or won't be stepping up and calling you on it.
Why are you calling your new "agency" "Alliance for Children"? Are you attempting to confuse well-meaning PAPs with the REAL Alliance for Children in MA? The one that's been around since the 1970s? I wonder how the REAL Alliance for Children would feel about you co-opting their good name for your new scheme.
You have alot of whining - well pull up the big girl panties because I've got more facts to set you straight. Argue with facts, not whines.
BTW, where is your expal Kerry Palakanis hiding out these days? It would be nice if you could help the victims of the POZ lawsuit. Then again, I would not expect you to do that.
AngelaW: Long time, no see - thanks for the truthful run down of Palakanis and Strasser. How well we remember those days.
What?
No--not whining--trying to clear up facts.
The old address for Ox was a rental office. When the opportunity came up for a new office that space was available and we went with it. It is in town, inexpensive and has the secured and locked closet space that is needed to meet DPW requirements.
Yes--I was on the Oz site. I am not saying that I did not work for Oz. I did as a case worker. I am saying that I was not involved in the corruption. I did what needed done for PA--home studies and post placements. I did not have any involvement in any business operations and when this all came about I left because I did not want to be involved with anything that hurt families.
Alliance for Children is opening a satellite agency in PA. We have been working on this for a long time.
As far as helping the families in the law suit--no one has ever contacted me. I was more than happy to help others that were wronged but I can't very well do it if no one tells me what is going on, can I? I offered to speak with the one person posting but she did not want to hear the information. You would not expect me to help? Why? You do not even know me. It is interesting how some folks are rushing to judgement when you do not know me, did not work in the PA office, are not a PA family and have not talked to DPW or any of the PA families. The PA work for home studies and psot placements offered a good, ethical, supportive service. What ever happened beyong the home studies was not something I knew of as far as being a problem until November of 2007. I left when I became aware of the agency being sold--they new owners were telling me what was going on.
So yes--it is slander when your facts are wrong and you attack someone that had nothing to do with what was going on. I met with the FBI, the DPW and others to tell them what I knew to assist in the situation. Your comment suggests that there is more that needs to be done but I am not sure what is expected so the offer for a phone call still stands.
Sister, I don't have to know
Sister, I don't have to know you. You worked with somebody who has ripped people off. See, I've been down around interantional adoption American rip-off style for years. I'm immune to the "oh pity me, I'm just doing my job and I never hurt anybody and had NO CLUE I was participating in a dirty industry with duplicitious persons." That doesn't cut it anymore. Not for you, not for any of the other crooked people who work in this business.
Isn't that a coincidence the VERY SAME ADDRESS Kerry the Embezzler had just HAPPENS to re-appear for you. What is Alliance for Children in MA thinking? You can't be the best qualified person to be running their PA branch. Forget it. It's the adoption industry. Nobody is thinking - they're just blindly reaching for wallets.
[You had no clue Kerry embezzled funds from her former employer Dr. Brophy to pay for her Ukraine adoptions? That's the kind of woman YOU worked for - therefore, you better believe I've reached my judgement - years ago]
Nobody ever contacted you about the current lawsuit? Didn't you even know about the two former legal actions taken against Palakanis? One PA Russia family who had to hire an attorney a few years ago? The other was Laura Santiago and her arbitration procedure. You didn't know Palakanis was being sued and then arbitrated BACK THEN by two different clients?
As for the current lawsuit being filed by various plantiffs. The attorney handling the case is Joni Fixel. Here's a link to her website:
http://fixellawoffices.com/_wsn/page7.html
You'll find all the information there to contact her. If you want to, that is. Right now Palakanis & her brood crew are living in the Northwest. I certainly hope you are no longer in contact with her.
E.Case
www.bewareofbbas.org
A reliable source tells me
A reliable source tells me the Palakanis' are in Nevada now.
Nevada
Dear SomeoneIn NC:
Is there a way I can contact you off-list on this issue??? Please respond.
Thanks.
You can email me at
You can email me at sac019889@gmail.com
just another thought...
As I have been reading through these strings, I not only seem to remember Ms. Ploski listed as the Executive Director of the PA Office....but remember speaking with those who dealt with her in their adoptions in PA for POZ.
http://web.archive.org/web/20070102095636/www.projectoz.com/c/16/staff
and even when a query was put out on Ericka's Yahoo Group, "Post International Adoption Support Group" back in February 2008, it was responded to by Ericka with a "run and hide" mentality...
"If anyone on this board has a pending or completed adoption through
Project Oz Adoptions, Inc., please contact me privately.
Additionally, if your adoption is still pending and you went through
the Meadville, PA office of Project Oz, please contact me as soon as
possible. Thanks, Liz."
(response by Ericka)
"Adoptions were never conducted through the Meadville
office--they were all done in either Maryland or in
North Carolina, where Kerry Palakanis resided.
This group is supposed to be for parental support of
post adoption issues--if there is an issue that you
would like to run by the group but not sure if it is
appropriate, please send me an email privately.
Thanks."
I would have thought that the initial posting was placed to help parents - especially those who may have had a problem with their adoption and needed to get information or a contact for help. Instead, you chose to shut down any and all conversation that may have begun and "claimed" the issue was inappropriate. Inappropriate for whom??? Maybe you Ericka???? Or for those who would have connected you with Project Oz and then wanted to know the truth...
Happy Endings
I'm saddened to have read all of the negative comments and articles about international adoptions and in particular, the situation with Project Oz. I want you to know that there are some (and I believe many) happy endings associated with Project Oz adoptions. I know for certain because I am one of the luckiest adoptive parents on earth, and I was guided by Kerry and her staff at Project Oz in Maryland. From day one of our association with Project Oz right to the day we saw our son for the first time, EVERYTHING went exactly as predicted by Kerry and her staff. There were no unpleasant surprises. As for Nancy Hoffman, I never met her, but at the time she owned a travel agency in Guatemala and she made sure we had English speaking drivers and safe transportation in Guatemala. Nancy Bailey is doing what few people on earth would do. Sit back and take a moment and just imagine what it must be like to set up an orphanage in a foreign country. I can tell you that at the time of our adoption, the children were being well cared for and had a good facility to live in. I believe their surroundings are even better now than at the time of our adoption. I don't want to drag this on, I just want people to know that there are some Happy Endings to this story.
The best way to judge an agency
I'm very happy for you your adoption went well. I think before denfending an agency there are things that have to be considered. An agency is only as good as their ablility to handle unexpected situations that arise. If nothing goes wrong you never truly know how they are able to handle things. We did our adoption through Kerry Palakanis, Erica Ploski, and Project Oz.. Once our adoption started having problems they became defensive, started lying and threatened us. We ended up finishing our adoption by ourselves. There's so many others with similar stories. There are people that still haven't brought home their child. The agency was shut down by the state. There are lawsuits against Kerry..
You don't want to drag this out yet you replied. So I'm responding. There may be happy endings, but if there's even ONE family done wrong by an agency they should be shut down. Try putting yourself in the position of families that still don't have their children home. My suggestion is be grateful for what you have and pray for the ones that don't have it.. And yes, it's at the hands of Kerry, Erica and Project Oz.
Happy Ending = Your Point???
I just love it...if you had/have such a happy ending as you state, why is it that you hide your identity? If it were me, I certainly wouldn't be hiding behind all of those pseudonames as there would be no reason to try to hide my identity from anyone - especially Kerry. But then again, it's easy to pretend that POZ was and IA is not riddled with fraud and corruption when one's eyes are closed and you live in a bubble. But, some of us are well acquainted with very unhappy endings and we are not afraid to speak out - no matter what.
Liz.
Hi Slingshot, I am relieved
Hi Slingshot,
I am relieved that your adoption went well and you got to bring your child home. I also was fortunate enough to bring my daughter home - not through Project Oz, but through a good agency. However, I totally agree with Amy that an agency is as good as how they handle the difficult situations - it is always easy to be nice and congenial when all is going well.
You have the right to defend Project Oz; it is hard to be angry at an agency that connected you with your child, but I suggest that you listen closely to what is being said as it is not fabricated information.
As people who have added to our families through intercountry adoption, we need to be very careful about endorsing questionable agencies and people who have been involved in fraud as more people could become their victims down the line.
Thank you for commenting on our site.
Lisa S.
I'm alittle confused
Lisa:
What is there to defend? There are still parents waiting to bring their children home, there are still parents who will never bring their children home, and then there are parents who have been so damaged - emotionally, financially, even physically - that it may take them years, if ever, to recover.
And, if we who were and are the victims of Project Oz have not made this perfectly clear - Project Oz no longer exists. Therefore, this named agency can not make anymore victims. But, as you and I know, there is nothing stopping the Palakanis' from opening up another agency, under another name, in another state and doing the same thing all over again and making more innocent victims.
For those whose adoptions were completed with relatively few problems, they are the lucky ones. But, for all the others, to defend either POZ or the Palakanis' is just adding insult to injury.
Liz.
Lucky and SCREWED over!
I had a happy ending too! I have a beautiful daughter that is VERY well adjusted! Did Kerry help me after I paid her IN FULL in 2006? No she ran away and I was left to fend for myself. I was left to deal with the crooks Kerry had introduced me to! Luckily, my daughters foster mother was a blessing to her! I paid over $50K to bring my daughter home! Kerry never apologized for screwing me out of my life savings! She has not been arrested for stealing from FOUR families, that I know personally, that will never bring their child home! Their adoptions were paid in full, yet their adoptions will never happen! They never received an apology or money back! Two of those families I KNOW paid over $50K, but still no child!
Yes I'm lucky to have my daughter just like you and yes I have a happy ending! Was I screwed big time? Hell yeah! Kerry told me personally that my daughter would be home BEFORE she was six months old. She was over two when I brought her home! She was 15 DAYS old when I accepted her referral!
The people that were left at the end, after all of the money was gone and Kerry disappeared were the ones that were screwed big time! A lady that started with me brought her child home in 9 1/2 mos......she was STILL lied to by Kerry!
BTW, maybe you should THANK ME....for funding your adoption! I'm sure your money was spent on someone elses! My daughter was one of the last to come home through POZ!
Terri
You can run
The sad truth is that you can not hide. It is obvious via the many court documents that are on file. It doesn't take long to research all of this information. It is all at the finger tips of anyone who wants to do a little digging.
Dina herself is Kerry's sister in law. I found that bit of information via classmates.com. The secretary of state departments of various states provide this information via their websites. The court case is on line via sites like scribd. The tax forms are online via guidestar.org.
You may have had a good experience but others have not. I commend those that stand and speak out against the injustices of agencies just like Project Oz. It takes a great deal of courage for these folks.
websleuthing
2 of Kerry's younger children appear to reside in Reno, NV now, based on facebook and myspace accounts. This confirms what the other poster said earlier.
RICO Hmmm...
This is a very interesting. I wonder if a claim can be made the State that is New Jersey refuses to act on my situation for this very same fear of RICO? I think that it would be a good idea to check it out.
RICO Hmmm...
This is a very interesting article. I will check its relevance, if any conditions apply in my case.
Nancy Bailey & Semillas de Amor
Approximately 4 years ago my wife and I initiated our second adoption of a Guatemalen child. We worked with Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin, who in an attempt to honor our request for an older child, turned to Nancy Bailey and Semillas de Amor. We were quickly matched with a 4 year old boy named Jeferson, who we understood had all necessary paperwork in place and was available for adoption. Approximately one year and many thousands of dollars later, we discovered that Nancy Bailey, in fact, did not have appropriate legal documentation to offer Jeferson for adoption. After several discussions with LSS, we determined that Nancy was no longer interested in working toward resolution of the problem, unless we were willing to adopt an infant. At that point, the process effectively came to an end.
Ultimately, LSS, through grant programs, was able to offer us approximately a 60% refund of our fees. As far as we know, Nancy Bailey retained everything, including the obligatory $1000 donation we had paid. We only hope she used it toward the home for children and Jeferson's care and not for her own personal gain.
Given our experience with Nancy Bailey, it is not surprising to us that she has been the subject of scrutiny.
Jeferson at Semillas
Alan: I am so sorry to hear that you have had this experience. You and your wife must have been devastated to find out this information about Jeferson and then to know that you were not able to finalize the adoption. You stated that this was going to be your second adoption...had you already completed the first through Semillas?? If you are not aware, there are still Semillas parents waiting to complete their adoptions. Maybe, in the end, you were saved prolonged agony and unfortunately, after all was said and done, the same ending. Just as an additional question, were you a POZ (Project Oz) client as well as a LSS client??? Liz.
Semillas
Liz,
We adopted our first child through World Child. The adoption process was uneventful and relatively rapid (approximately 9 months from first paperwork to travel), probably because we were flexible with respect to age and gender.
Because our experience with World Child was relatively painless, we were perhaps less circumspect than we might have been about the referral from Semillas. At the same time, Ms. Bailey's decision to put Jeferson forward for referral is curious, given her experience in working with matching agencies and his (Jeferson's) lack of appropriate documentation.
Assuming that the children on Semillas' website are actually tenants at the orphanage, we still see photographs of Jeferson at the orphanage.
-Alan