By Steven Hsieh | Phoenix New Times
An Arizona grand jury indicted Maricopa County Assessor Paul Petersen for multiple counts of fraud relating to his black market adoption business.
In a press conference on Wednesday, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said Petersen stands accused of illegally arranging travel for 29 pregnant women from the Marshall Islands from November 2015 to May 2019 with the intention of adopting out their babies for a fee.
Petersen is also accused of falsely representing the women as Arizona residents to bilk $800,000 of Arizona tax dollars to pay for their health care costs.