Doing this again . Makes me sick. Wait till you see what we found when we took our cameras undercover. So we are talking 7,000. Total, about that. This woman was offering her baby for adoption. But was she even pregnant . Is that a pillow . It looks like a pillow. What about adoption agencies careful as they should be. I will say on the form i dont do drugs. I am actually a correspondent with dateline nbc. A hidden camera investigation. Im lester holt. And this is dateline. Here is Andrea Canning with hope heartbreak. Reporter adoption can be a time of joy. It was probably the most amazing moment of my entire life. Reporter but its also a multimillion dollar industry. Its just been unbelievable and eyeopening. Reporter the transactions impact peoples lives. It sounds like youre describing buying a house. Right, but its a baby. Reporter and the outcome is anything but certain. I say, its all a gamble. Reporter because for the thousands of families who successfully adopt each year, there are others whose adoptions fail. The pain you suffer is very similar if not the same as the death of a child. Reporter tonight youll meet some families whose adoptions didnt turn out the way theyd hoped. Its hard to know who you can trust now. Reporter would you say that you were the perfect prey . Yeah. Oh yeah. Reporter with our hidden cameras well go undercover inside the world of private adoption. I want to be able to get as much money as i can to be honest with you. Reporter and well find out sometimes its hard to know whats real and what isnt. Im trying to find out the truth about whats going on. Are you even pregnant . Chris and amy lehmkuhl had known each other since high school. Newly married they were excited to build a family, close to where theyd grown up in yuba city, ca. But they were struggling. I was pregnant and had a miscarriage. Yeah, about a year after we got married. Reporter that mustve been pretty heartbreaking. Pretty awful. It was a terrible experience, yeah. Reporter after the miscarriage came ten more years of disappointment. Doctors appointments and a failed round of ivf treatment didnt bring chris and amy the baby theyd longed for. Did you find yourself wanting children more and more as you kept facing this heartbreak . I did for sure. I never have thought about my life without children. Never. Reporter chris and amy decided to try adoption. They began looking for a pregnant woman interested in giving up her baby. You can do this a number of ways through an agency or even on your own. But chris and amy hired an attorney who put them in touch with a 24yearold pregnant woman living out of a michigan motel. Her name was Heather Burgess shed talk about her parents. She would talk about her childhood. It was just normal conversation. Reporter she put you at ease . Yeah absolutely. Reporter you felt like this could be the one . Oh, we knew it was the one. Yeah. Reporter chris and amy were thrilled when heather said she wanted them to adopt her baby. They agreed to pay heathers Living Expenses for the last few months of her pregnancy, and moved her into an apartment. You mustve been excited. Yeah. Yeah, we absolutely. We were very excited. Reporter paying a birthmothers Living Expenses is legal in most states. But it doesnt guarantee the adoption will happen. A birthmother can change her mind at any time during her pregnancy. Still amy and chris were confident heather wouldnt. We spent i think about three days total with her. Reporter two months after theyd started supporting heather, amy and chris flew out to meet her face to face. We went to see movies together. I took her shopping for maternity clothes. Reporter amy even went with heather to the doctor for an ultrasound. How special was it for you to be able to go to this ultrasound and actually see ye that reporter the baby . It was it was amazing. I mean you know, having not had a pregnancy go that far to be able to go to an ultrasound myself it was really exciting for me. Reporter heather handed amy copies of the ultrasound pictures telling her she was a mother now. I immediately was, like, calling family saying, its a boy. And heres his name. Reporter but two weeks later everything changed. The manager of the apartment amy and chris were renting for heather called with terrible news. The apartment manager said, heather has left her apartment. She told her neighbors to take whatever they wanted and she was gone. Reporter what a blow it was awful ive been through a miscarriage and ive been through that and theres no difference. Reporter they had sent heather nearly 9,000. Theyd come to think of the baby she was carrying as their son, but heather had vanished. The birth mom can change her mind at any time. Right yeah reporter no matter how much money youve given them, no matter how much time youve spent with them, how much youve invested emotionally, it could just be over like that. Yeah. And we always knew that. Reporter but amy didnt think heather had changed her mind. She suspected heather had duped her. And she ended up being right. When you hear the name Heather Burgess what goes through your mind . I need to get her in jail. Shes hurt so many families. Reporter shelia davis, head of a non profit Adoption Agency in michigan says heather is a serial adoption scammer. She says heather took money from her clients, also potential adoptive parents, when she wasnt even pregnant. How was it so easy for her to take peoples money . First off con artist. Shes an artist at her trade. She really makes you sympathize with her. And she really brings you into her world. Reporter shelia reported heather to the michigan police. She was arrested and pleaded guilty to larceny. But skipped town before sentencing and it was while heather was on the lam that she moved into that apartment rented for her by chris and amy. Thats kind of for me was a little bit of a scary thought. I mean, it was like did we just aid and abet a criminal . Reporter by the time she connected with chris and amy, heather was really pregnant. But it turns out even though chris and amy were the ones paying her bills. Heather was shopping her baby to other adoption professionals, asking them for money too. Did you feel stupid . Did you feel like, how could we have believed her and not seen signs . I dont think i ever felt stupid. That may be because of the emotional hurt but i never felt stupid. I mean shes just that good. Reporter chris and amy contacted their local Sheriffs Department and investigators tracked heather down to a hotel in california. She was arrested and pleaded guilty to fraud. Why did you pursue charges . For me it was that i didnt want it to happen to anybody else. Reporter heather was sentenced to spend a year in jail but shelia davis didnt think that was the last shed hear about heather. There was part of me even then knew she wouldnt quit. Reporter was shelia right . We decided to go undercover and find out. You wont believe what we caught on our hidden cameras. Are you even pregnant . You havent seen the last of heather. When we come back. Shes at it again, using a different name, but playing the same game. And shes got just one thing on her mind. So were talking about seven thousand dollars . Total about that. How do we ensure you are going to choose us . Its a trust situation. I really like pillows. Maybe too much. Go ahead, call me a hoarder. Ive got these little enablers ziploc spacebags. See . Way more space. [whispered] for more pillows. Sj johnson so if you have a flat tire dead battery need a tow or lock your keys in the car, geicos emergency roadside assistance is there 24 7. Oh dear, i got a flat tire. Hmmm. Uh. 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I think at that point i felt like this was just never going to happen. We were thinking, i think we give up. Just wasnt meant to be reporter that all happened ten years ago. And while there are no solid statistics on how many prospective parents fall victim to birthmother scams each year, nanette williams, a veteran of the adoption business, says the problem is getting worse. Describe the business you got into 18 years ago versus the business youre in today id come across a scam once every three months. I just had three in one month. Reporter what are the tricks . I knew one girl that went around with an artificial stomach she stole from a maternity store. Reporter nanette is an adoption facilitator. She charges prospective parents a fee to connect them with pregnant women, a practice thats legal in california. But she says even she cant always tell whether a birthmother is a scammer or not. I could have the girl right there with me and she could still be a total scam. She could be pregnant but she had no intentions of placing that baby. But she knows all the right things to say. Reporter is the end goal for these birth mothers money . For some, not for all. Ive had girls say, i dont want a dime. Theyre wonderful. Reporter when we met nanette she was trying to track down a birthmother she had suspicions about. Her name was michelle. Shed recently disappeared after promising her baby to a california couple this couple gave her how much money . I want to say there was roughly around a 2000 Exchange Reporter nanette texted michelle asking her where she was. She says shes in las vegas reporter michelle asked nanette to get the couple to send her more money. And fast. If they wont i want to say that means help me. How they going to treat my baby . Reporter we went online to see if we could find michelle. Adoption professionals sometimes share information about birthmothers on adoption websites. And it didnt take long to find this message asking about her. It looked like michelle was fishing for money elsewhere. Shes a piece of work. Shes unbelievable. Reporter we wanted to meet her in person. So a dateline producer called her and said he was interested in adopting her baby. Michelle sent him a photo of her pregnant belly. Then she texted us again and again asking for money. Her boyfriend left us this voicemail. We havent eaten all day. You know my girlfriend is pregnant. Eight months pregnant. Could you do something, like soon . Reporter we sent her a small amount of money for expenses and asked to meet in person. Turns out she wasnt in las vegas. She was in pennsylvania. There she is getting into the car we sent to pick her up. Take a closer look. Does she look familiar . Well she should. Turns out michelle is none other than Heather Burgess, the woman who scammed chris and amy all those years ago. How surprised were you to learn from us that heather or michelle or whatever shes calling herself is still at it all these years later . I mean, not surprised that shes still doing it. I mean, thats how she makes her living. Reporter in the car, rigged with our hidden cameras, heather didnt say much to her boyfriend or to us. Was she nervous . And what was she adjusting under her sweater . As the car made its way towards us, we set up our hidden cameras in a restaurant. Two dateline producers were there to meet her, posing as prospective adoptive parents. Reporter this is michelle . Hi, how are you . Reporter take a seat. Take a seat. We already knew that heather was lying to us about her name. We wondered what else she would tell us. So how are you feeling . Im feeling good. Its just hard to sleep and stuff and move. Reporter and how do you feel about giving up the baby . I cant let my feelings get involved with whats best for the baby. I cant feed the baby. I cant do anything for this baby. So why not give it a better life you know . Reporter and are you working with anyone else . Talking to any other no. Reporter couples . Uhumm. Reporter we knew that was a lie. Remember shed just taken 2000 from a couple in california. I just want to make sure that youre not talking to anybody else and that if you choose us, youre gonna keep your word. Right. I would never do that. I wouldnt put your hopes up or expectations high. I need somebody thats committed to this child and thats gonna raise the child. And you know give the best that they can get reporter we had asked them to come up with a list of their Living Expenses they would need help with like utilities, food, and housing. To like, move to an apartment, it would be one months security and one months rent to move in. So it would be 2400. Yeah 12 hundred a month. Reporter so were talking about seven thousand dollars . Talking about that. Reporter okay, but how do we ensure that youre gonna choose us . Its a trust situation. Yeah. Reporter its all about trust. Yeah. Pretty much. Reporter while she may have thought she was fooling us, we had a few surprises for her too. Because heather wasnt our only lunch guest that day. Shes such a liar. Reporter caught on camera by one of the couples she scammed. Reporter the woman sitting across from us at this restaurant table said her name was michelle, she was 35 weeks pregnant and interested in letting us adopt her baby if we gave her 7000 she said she needed for her Living Expenses. And are you working with anyone else . Talking to any other . No. Reporter couples . Uhum reporter problem was, we knew michelle was really Heather Burgess, a known adoption scammer. And that shed already promised her baby to another family and had taken 2000 from them. Is there anything that we should know, about your past that we should just be aware of . I just want to make sure we know everything. No. I come from a really healthy family. Reporter have you ever been in trouble with the law . No. No. Reporter neither one of you . No, i got a ticket for speeding. Reporter oh, a speeding ticket. Thats it . Just a speeding ticket . Yeah. Reporter what heather wasnt telling us was that she has an extensive criminal record that includes convictions for fraudulently taking money from adoptive parents like chris and amy lehmkuhl. We invited them to watch from behind the scenes as heather tried to get money from us. We cant like keep the baby cause we have no jobs we cant raise the baby. So i figured we might as well just put the baby up for adoption. Shes such a liar. I sent you a picture of the ultrasound. Oh my gosh. God. Reporter how does it feel seeing them doing this again . It makes me sick. Its sickening that you know theyre preying on people the way that they are. Reporter how has the pregnancy been for you . Its just been tiring because im older so, like, im just tired all the time. Reporter and perhaps this was the biggest lie heather told us that day. Remember how shed been fidgeting with her sweatshirt in the car . We kept looking at her belly across the restaurant table. We werent sure she was even pregnant. It was time for me to introduce myself. Here she is. Do you guys mind if i sit down for a second . I told her i was a friend of the prospective parents, who were really our producers. I couldnt handle it you know if it didnt work out. So, you know, i did look into it and i found something that you are actually working with another couple at the same time is that true . No, were not working with anybody. You guys are the first people that weve met. That weve met or talked to. Reporter so theres not a couple in california that youve taken money from . No. No. Reporter okay, i was afraid you would say that because weve been looking into adoption scams and my name is Andrea Canning, im a correspondent for dateline nbc. Are you even pregnant . Yeah. Reporter how far along are you . Im 8 months. Reporter and, can i feel your belly . Who are you . Reporter im trying to find out the truth about what, whats going on and what you guys are doing. And i dont know if i should be calling you michelle or heather . Is your real name heather . Youve done this before. Is that a pillow in there . It looks like a pillow. Do you have anything to say . Are you gonna call like im just gonna go. Reporter heather and her boyfriend didnt stay to answer my questions. We offered them a lift back to the motel but they walked off. How was it for you two kinda reliving that through someone elses eyes and watching it again unfold . You know, to me its frustrating. Its frustrating to know that that is still happening. Reporter then as our shoot wrapped up, we spotted heather and her boyfriend a few blocks away. And guess what, she no longer looked eight months pregnant. That bulge under her sweatshirt was gone. Heather . It looks like your belly is gone. You took your pillow out . A few minutes later heather came back round the corner. She found chris and amy waiting. Of course you dont remember who we are. Do you remember who we are . Reporter heather do you have anything you want to say to chris and amy . Im sorry. You should be sorry. You dont realize how youre hurting people. I really dont think youre sorry. I really dont think you care. Reporter she apologized to you . She you know what she was sorry for . She was sorry she got caught. Reporter and chris may have been right because a few days after our meeting, the phone rang in nanettes office, that california adoption facilitator. The callers name was new but nanette said the voice sounded awfully familiar. She said it was heather claiming once again to be pregnant. And looking for money. Is she not realizing that you might actually recognize her voice from before . She doesnt remember who shes called, shes called so many. Reporter so is there anything adoptive parents can do to protect themselves . As our journey continues, ill be going undercover to find out. You just saw us confront an adoption scammer on our hidden cameras. But even if couples dont contact a birthmother directly, there are other ways things can fall apart in the adoption process. Next well introduce you to a group of parents who say they had a different kind of problem than the couple you just met. They didnt have a problem with a birthmother. It was with an Adoption Agency. She kept saying well theres another family interested. Are you gonna match tonight . Are you gonna match tonight . Reporter it sounds like youre describing buying a house . Right, but its a baby. Reporter when dateline continues. 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