By Ana Jackson, Reporter for NBC4

DELAWARE, Ohio – Imagine being an adoptive parent, just weeks away from receiving a child from a birth mother, only to find out the mother was never pregnant.

It’s a scheme that has fooled and broken the hearts of Midwest couples.

Shawn and Laura Mickens fell victim to the scheme.

They have been searching for a baby for the last 18 months and already lost out on a previous adoption opportunity.

So when they saw an ad for a local birth mother who was supposedly due in three weeks, they jumped at the chance and scheduled a meeting right away.

“She got so attached to us. She was rubbing her belly, calling it by the child’s name even though she wasn’t really pregnant. She just looked pregnant,” Shawn said.

The couple said the mother agreed to sign all of the paperwork necessary for the adoption but then suddenly stopped calling.

The Mickens posted their story on online adoption forums and found that nine other couples had fallen victim to the very same scheme.

“We’re trying to give a child a good home, and she’s ruining the adoption process for these families. She’s breaking their hearts and making them think twice if they really want to do this,” Laura said.

Adoption attorney Tommy Taneff said similar schemes are rare, but couples should always do their homework on a birth mother.

He said couples should run background checks and do Internet searches and always should work with an adoption attorney to prevent problems.

The Mickens said they will continue to pursue adoption despite the disheartening scheme.

In the meantime, they are working to get the word out about the scheme.

They said local authorities decided the case was too weak to pursue in court.

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