‘Get Him To Sign’: Texas Adoption Attorney Uses Threats, Coercion Against Pregnant Jail Inmates to Buy Their Babies Then Push the Fathers to ‘Relinquish’ Their Rights, Police Say

After getting banned from brokering international adoptions, one accused scammer turned to a surprising target: pregnant inmates. A Texas adoption attorney allegedly made brazen attempts to buy two babies from incarcerated women by depositing money into their jail accounts to pay for commissary items and entertainment. Jody Hall, 68, was charged with the sale or purchase of a child and unethical adoption practices, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by KXAS in Dallas. The third-degree felony carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence in Texas. Jody Hall (Photo: YouTube screenshot/12NewsNow) But this is not Hall’s first brush with notoriety. She was the subject of an investigative series by Honolulu Civil Beat into an adoption pipeline from the Marshall Islands to Honolulu in violation of international law. It’s unclear if Texas police will examine those actions in connection to the most recent investigation. The latest adoption scheme was exposed after detectives from the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office discovered messages on electronic jail tablets allegedly from Hall to at least two inmates, both in their 20s. The messages to one inmate started on March 13, with Hall initially taking a cordial tone. But that quickly escalated into name-calling and threats as the mother-to-be...