INSIDER
Stiff adoption scheme term sought for Arizona ex-politician
Read full article: Stiff adoption scheme term sought for Arizona ex-politicianPetersen is scheduled on Friday, March 19, 2021, to receive the second of three prison sentences for convictions stemming from his acknowledged operation of an illegal adoption scheme involving women from the Marshall Islands. (AP Photo/Jacques Billeaud, File)PHOENIX – Arizona prosecutors are seeking the stiffest possible prison sentence for a former metro Phoenix politician convicted in an illegal adoption scheme — one that could land him behind bars for as many as 18 years. He also worked as an adoption attorney and will be sentenced Friday in Phoenix on fraud convictions stemming from his acknowledged operation of an illegal adoption scheme in Arizona, Arkansas and Utah that involved birth mothers from the Marshall Islands who were brought to the U.S. But in court records, the Arizona prosecutors have said they want him ordered to serve aggravated sentences on multiple convictions that would be served consecutively, rather than at the same time. Citizens of the Marshall Islands have been prohibited from traveling to the United States for adoption purposes since 2003.