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A woman who had faced a state charge for allegedly scamming a Leavenworth couple now faces federal charges involving another couple.
Roxanne Janel Jones, 34, Kansas City, Mo., is charged with 11 counts of wire fraud and one count of identity theft in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District in Kansas City, Kan., according to a news release from the office of Barry Grissom, U.S. attorney for Kansas.
The federal charges accuse Jones of claiming to be pregnant with twins and willing to let someone adopt them so she could get rent money and gifts.
The complaint alleges authorities were contacted March 22 by a woman in Bonner Springs who had seen a CBS news story in which Jones was accused in another case of posing as an expectant mother. The woman told police she and her husband met Jones in January 2010 when Jones answered the couple’s ad on Craigslist seeking someone to adopt their dog. Jones allegedly adopted the dog using an alias.
During conversations with the couple, Jones allegedly told them she was pregnant with twins due in June 2010 and she was considering putting them up for adoption. The couple decided they wanted to adopt the twins and went to a lawyer for advice. When the couple asked Jones for a Social Security number, she allegedly gave them a number belonging to her son, according to the news release.
From February to June 2010, Jones is alleged to have frequently communicated with the couple, asking for money for rent, food, utilities and other expenses. The couple reportedly sent Jones money using a service called Money Gram. The couple sent a total of 11 Money Grams totaling $830. The money was retrieved at two locations in Kansas City, Mo., according to the release.
On June 1, the couple reportedly received text messages indicating Jones was in labor at the University of Kansas Hospital, Kansas City, Kan., and asking if they still wanted to adopt the babies. On June 5, the text messages stopped, according to the release.
Jones was arrested March 16 at a hotel on state charges stemming from another alleged adoption scam using a different alias.
Jones had been charged in Johnson County District Court with felony theft, identity theft and misdemeanor theft. The criminal complaint in that case identified a Leavenworth couple as the victims of the felony theft.
Johnson County District Court records indicate the state charges have now been dismissed by the prosecution.
If convicted on the federal charges, Jones faces a maximum penalty of 20 years and a fine of up to $240,000 on each count of wire fraud and a mandatory two years to run consecutively to other sentences and a fine of up to $250,000 on the identity theft charge.
A woman who had faced a state charge for allegedly scamming a Leavenworth couple now faces federal charges involving another couple.
Roxanne Janel Jones, 34, Kansas City, Mo., is charged with 11 counts of wire fraud and one count of identity theft in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District in Kansas City, Kan., according to a news release from the office of Barry Grissom, U.S. attorney for Kansas.
The federal charges accuse Jones of claiming to be pregnant with twins and willing to let someone adopt them so she could get rent money and gifts.
The complaint alleges authorities were contacted March 22 by a woman in Bonner Springs who had seen a CBS news story in which Jones was accused in another case of posing as an expectant mother. The woman told police she and her husband met Jones in January 2010 when Jones answered the couple’s ad on Craigslist seeking someone to adopt their dog. Jones allegedly adopted the dog using an alias.
During conversations with the couple, Jones allegedly told them she was pregnant with twins due in June 2010 and she was considering putting them up for adoption. The couple decided they wanted to adopt the twins and went to a lawyer for advice. When the couple asked Jones for a Social Security number, she allegedly gave them a number belonging to her son, according to the news release.
From February to June 2010, Jones is alleged to have frequently communicated with the couple, asking for money for rent, food, utilities and other expenses. The couple reportedly sent Jones money using a service called Money Gram. The couple sent a total of 11 Money Grams totaling $830. The money was retrieved at two locations in Kansas City, Mo., according to the release.
On June 1, the couple reportedly received text messages indicating Jones was in labor at the University of Kansas Hospital, Kansas City, Kan., and asking if they still wanted to adopt the babies. On June 5, the text messages stopped, according to the release.
Jones was arrested March 16 at a hotel on state charges stemming from another alleged adoption scam using a different alias.
Jones had been charged in Johnson County District Court with felony theft, identity theft and misdemeanor theft. The criminal complaint in that case identified a Leavenworth couple as the victims of the felony theft.
Johnson County District Court records indicate the state charges have now been dismissed by the prosecution.
If convicted on the federal charges, Jones faces a maximum penalty of 20 years and a fine of up to $240,000 on each count of wire fraud and a mandatory two years to run consecutively to other sentences and a fine of up to $250,000 on the identity theft charge.
