By Robert Anglen and Jessica Boehm | Arizona Republic
Paul Petersen was released from federal custody in Arkansas on Tuesday after pleading not guilty to a raft of human smuggling charges related to an international adoption scheme.
The Maricopa County assessor made his first court appearance since his Oct. 8 arrest. But his continued freedom hinges on how he answers state charges in Arizona and Utah in November.
Petersen was released on a $100,000 bond. A judge ordered him to wear a GPS monitoring device, took away his passport and prohibited him from engaging in any adoption work.
Petersen is a Mesa attorney who specializes in private adoptions. He was indicted this month in Arizona, Utah and Arkansas on allegations that he illegally transported pregnant women from the Marshall Islands to the U.S., fraudulently enrolled them for Medicaid and orchestrated adoptions of their children to American families for up to $40,000 each.
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Petersen’s attorney, Kurt Altman, of Phoenix, was in Arkansas on Tuesday. He said Petersen has posted bonds in Arizona and Utah, “so we expect him to be fully released from custody some time today here in Arkansas.”
